Running From Lions
by ThewriterformerlyknownasDeck
Summary: Eighteen year old Teddy Grey's recklessness results in becoming a witness to a mob hit. Fearing corruption at the heart of a possible Witness Protection program, Taylor becomes Teddy's protector as they both run for their lives to an unknown Safe House. Can Christian, Luke, Reynolds and Ryan manage to find Teddy and Taylor before the mob do? Will it end in a bloodbath? *HEA-ish*
1. Chapter 1

_**Running From Lions**_

 **.**

 _'I didn't think I'd get us in this much trouble, Taylor," Teddy said honestly, the first time the little prick had been honest since they'd pulled up at this stupid 'roach stuffed motel. It was a seedy joint, one which made Jason's skin crawl being in._

 _Especially with a young man._

 _Screamed all sorts of queer and sexual deviance._

 _It was hard not to resent the younger man as he made himself comfortable on the one bed they had in their room. It squeaked under his weight and Jason was sure he spotted a pubic hair on the pillow. Great._

 _"What did you think would happen, Theodore?" Jason snapped, "You walked in on a mob gang shooting someone; you're a witness to a murder which could put a large family of men in prison for a long time. You're fucked."_

 _"I just wanted to get away and have fun without babysitters," Teddy mumbled, "I didn't expect-"_

 _"Fuck. You. Theodore," Jason growled now, "We are your bodyguards. Not your goddamn babysitters. If you weren't such a fame hungry whore you wouldn't need us to follow you around but if you act up to the media limelight then you do need us. You poisoned a member of my staff, disobeyed your father, broke your parents trust and now you've dragged me into this complete and utter farce. And you are yet to apologise or even say thank you to me for saving your arse!"_

 _"I'm sorry, Jason," Teddy said firmly._

 _"You're forgiven, Teddy. Now shut up and sleep," Jason spat as he stripped to his boxers and climbed into his side of their queen sized bed._

 _"Thank you for saving me tonight too," Teddy added, sitting in the middle of his bed, "Are we safe in this motel?"_

 _"Safe from the Mob? Yeah. For now we will be," Jason huffed, "You witnessed a mob hit, Teddy. That puts you and your family in danger. I'm yet to see you act like you give a damn. The consequences of your actions could be deadly. For your family and for mine."_

 _"Why can't we go to the police?" Teddy asked then._

 _"Because, Teddy, I can't be sure you'll be safe in an Eyewitness protection program," Jason admitted, "The only way I'll know that you're safe is if I keep you safe myself. We keep moving. Unpredictably. Until I am contacted from Reynolds to let me know what's going on, you and I are going to be on the run."_

 _ **.**_

 **.**

 **Chapter one**

 **.**

 **Earlier...**

 **12th June,**

 **Grey Mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle.**

.

Taylor held Gail's hand as they drove in silence back to the cottage. He felt exhausted, emotionally and physically, the effort to even breathe was proving difficult let alone drive the Jaguar back to the house.

He turned to face Gail who was staring out of the window, taking in the view of the Sound, tears trickling from her eyes. It broke his heart to see her so lost and frightened. Because that's what she was; frightened.

Frightened of the future, of his, of hers and theirs together.

"Are you okay?" Jason finally asked. Neither had spoken to the other since leaving the doctors. Just short one words as both attempted to internalise what had been said to them.

"As good as I can be," Gail choked, forcing a smile as she turned to look at him then.

Jason stared back at the road but he could feel her eyes exploring his face, every wrinkle, every scar and spot, each individual freckle; noting his every feature.

This was utter Hell.

"We can beat this," Jason said as positively as he could.

"There's no beating this, Jason," Gail scoffed, "You're being silly."

"I'm being a marine; there's always a way."

"Not this time, Sailor," Gail sighed and Jason felt his blood run cold. He couldn't help her. He couldn't help his Little Woman. Only the doctors could help her now and, even then, could they?

"Please don't tell Mr and Mrs Grey just yet. I need time to think about it all; assess my options and then we can plan," Gail added, still studying Jason's face closely, "You're beautiful. You know that, right?"

Jason snorted as he merged into another lane to overtake a Toyota who underestimated the speed of the Jag, "You high or something?"

"You are, Jason. I never want to forget how beautiful you are," Gail sighed, a few fresh tears slipping down her cheeks.

He couldn't cry yet, though he desperately wanted to. Instead he focused back on the road as they neared the turn off for Grey mansion.

Addlestone was working the gate and Jason slowed the Jag, rolling the window down.

"Hello Taylor, Gail," Addlestone smiled, "Hope you're well. You catch the Mariner's score, Boss?"

"I never, Addlestone," Jason said as the gate lifted and he was permitted to enter the grounds, "Catch you later."

"Sure, boss," Addlestone called, waving them through before securing the gate once again.

"You missed the game?" Gail frowned then, staring at him as they drove down the long, dark drive to the mansion. He needed to remember to check the light switches; they'd flicked again and the road was in total darkness.

"Of course Little Woman," Jason nodded, turning on the full beam to better see, "Stupid question. You mean more to me than sports."

Gail went quiet then and Jason saw her jaw wobbling as she frantically swallowed and tried to straighten herself out; keep composed. She somehow managed to stem the sobbed her body obviously needed to release and she took several calming deep breaths.

Then silence befell them, the purr of the engine and the sound of the wheels going over a couple of twigs on the road.

"Gail, I just wanted to say that-"

"Sailor, I want you," Gail suddenly interrupted him when Jason had a massive list of things still yet to say. He looked over at her in shock, taking his eyes of the road to do so. Gail must have seen his confusion because she added firmly; "Right now."

 _Huh?_

Jason was about to comment but then jumped when Gail's hands went straight to unfastening his jeans and slacken his belt. Cold hands found his dick and Jason shuddered from the temperature change.

"Geez, Gail, wait till I put the car in park," Jason stressed, focusing on the Grey's driveway. Or at least trying to focus on the driveway; Gail's head was now bobbing in his lap and Jason felt his dick going from soft to hard in seconds, "Gail," he moaned lowly, glad the Jaguar was automatic so he didn't have to work the stick but instead only focus on the road. He held the wheel with one hand and the other he used for holding the back of Gail's head to keep her thick curly blonde hair from her face.

Fuck he wanted her desperately.

After the hell they'd both experienced in the consultation room all Jason wanted to do was spend the night alternating between making tender love and fucking hard and fast until their problems were all but a distant memory for them both. He'd bring her a cup of tea between sessions, maybe something stronger to help them forget faster.

"Use your teeth," Jason moaned softly, hitching his hips when he felt her using her meeting his request, "That's it."

He didn't bother to reverse park, instead he just drove straight into one of the staff parking bays. Ryan's Fiat 500 was there still, as was Luke's Subaru, so Jason flashed the full beam of his own car.

It was usually a code signal for whoever may just so happen to be in the office that Grey and Ana were up to their usual nonsense in the back of the car, acting like a warning not to watch them doing the deed. It also acted as a way for Jason to know where to cut the security footage; he'd flash the lights to begin with and cut out the footage only when the car's occupants got out.

"Gail," Jason groaned, pulling his seat back whilst Gail let go of his dick and climbed into his lap, "Condoms in the glove box."

"I don't want one," Gail growled and bit him.

She bit him.

On the junction of his neck.

It sent a shiver down his spine…but still he looked at the glove box. This was a five thousand dollar suit; he really didn't want to muddy it up with the leakage that often came after having unprotected sex. Unprotected sex was okay in the house, but condoms kept things clean, like his suits or the interior of his beloved Jag or-

"Ahrnugh," Jason grunted when she started to ride him before he could further object on the condom front. This was only his third favourite suit anyway; it'd wash out.

She'd unbutton her blouse and Jason ended up with a face full of lace and milky white skin.

"Faster, Jason," Gail growled, her nails raking into the back of his neck, through his hair. He tried to oblige but was aware of how high she was already sitting and after today he really didn't want to hit her head.

"That's it," Gail near howled and Jason gave up being so restrained, "Oh, yes, ah fuck Jason."  
Instead he grabbed her hips and thrust harder growling himself before biting her exposed shoulder as he came.

"Oh God," Jason panted, slouching back in his seat and looking into the deep brown eyes of the woman he loved. He smiled and tucked a hair behind her ear. "God I love you."

Gail smiled at first and then her face crumpled and she slumped forward into his shoulder.

"Baby please, don't cry. It's going to be okay. We'll work through this," Jason said firmly.

"You should leave me. You're young enough. Remarry. Find someone to look after you." Gail sobbed.

"Sickness and in health, Babe. You're mine," Jason mumbled, one hand in Gail's hair and the other wrapped around her hips to hold her against him tightly, "Shhh, we're going to be okay."

"Jason I'm going to die," Gail choked.

"We all die sometime," Jason pointed out, "We don't know for sure when or how or why. I could die tomorrow. I could die tonight. Death is just what it is. We will make this work for us, I promise you. I'm not leaving. I'm not prepared to leave you over something like this. I swear. It's you and me, babe. You and me. And our Bulldog."

That got Gail laughing then, "Oh Lesley."

"Exactly," Jason said, "You need to keep strong for our baby, Little Woman. Positive energy and all that shite, baby."

"Okay," Gail nodded, "Okay. I'm okay, Sailor. I need to go get cleaned up. Then put some dinner on."

"Good," Jason smiled, kissing her as sweetly as he could, "Beans on toast?"

"With a sprinkle of cheese just like you love," Gail winked but still Jason could see a sadness in Gail's eyes; she was still utterly terrified of their uncertain future or what they would do next.

Gail climbed out of the Jag first, Jason turning the lights off and picking up his wallet from the side door. He climbed out and frowned when he spotted Teddy.

Fucking weirdo.

Jason had no idea when the eldest Grey had become such an ass but at the age of eighteen, Teddy's behaviour was that of a spoilt billionaire's son and not the humbled well raised young man he should have been, like Phoebe.

"You okay, Gail?" Teddy asked, all sweetness and pie. The others couldn't see how much of a cock Teddy Grey was but Jason could, as did Luke and Ryan and Reynolds. Everyone else wrote him off as a lovable rogue. Jason wrote him off as a possible criminal.

How long had the freak been lurking out here?

Gail couldn't answer the young man, only smiling weakly at him before heading into the cottage before she started crying again. She loved the Grey kids like her own. Seeing them right now wasn't going to help her overcome today's events like Jason hoped.

Jason glared, buttoning up his fly and tucking his softening dick up into his waistband, "What are you doing lurking out here in the Staff Parking, Teddy?"

 _Probably here to steal a car,_ Jason thought but didn't say.

"Grabbing a joint," Teddy said with a smirk, "What are you doing out here, _Sailor_?"

He gave Jason a knowing look then which made Jason's blood boil; he'd been watching them having sex. Yes, Jason shouldn't have had sex in the car park but after today's hospital appointment he really didn't give a flying fuck about his behaviour. Which was a scary thought because he was desperate to give Theodore Grey the spanking his parents should have given him as a child.

"Back off, Theodore," Jason warned, going to walk past him, "I'm not in the mood for you tonight."

The kid was an utter prick; entitled and lazy. He'd no interest in going into GEH and he'd also no interest in college. Smoking weed was his latest act of rebellion but really, the joke was on him because the shit was legal in this state and Jason didn't give a flying fuck if he smoked it or not. Heck, he himself had been known to take a sneaky few draws when he went to Luke's apartment.

Phoebe was Jason's little princess. God he adored her like he adored Sophie. She was everything Teddy wasn't; shy, quietly determined, ambitious, strong willed for all the right reasons, fame-loathing. She didn't like people calling her Phoebe Grey because she'd been the victim of some horrific bullying in the past which had left her paranoid about people's intentions; did they want her friendship or her money?

Grey didn't know this but Ana and Jason had picked her up from a party once where her then-boyfriend had decided to make sexual advances which she'd been completely against. He'd called her an ugly prude and threatened to tell everyone intimate details about her if she didn't have sex with him. That was earlier in the year when she was only just sixteen. She'd been sensible and called Jason from the bathroom and he'd grabbed Ana and went to Phoebe's rescue in seconds, both deciding that the less Christian knew the better. That didn't mean Mrs Grey had let the matter go quietly, however.

Not in the slightest.

No, Jason took great joy in watching Luke slash the assholes tires, pan in his windscreen and mirrors, rip off the exhaust of his car. Ryan had contributed by using that big brain of his and hacked the lad's laptop with viruses. Reynolds made sure that he'd no images of Phoebe in an intimate way by going complete CIA and nabbing his iPhone. Of course there was photos of Phoebe which, had Ana wanted, they could have made the police known. However she was satisfied the guy had learnt his lesson and she didn't want to drag Phoebe through much more. Jason had made a point of walking Phoebe all the way to the door of the school building, much to Phoebe's relief; she'd said herself that she felt much safer with Jason around.

Yup, Phoebe was Jason's princess, and everyone knew it. He reckoned that's why Teddy carried such resentment towards him. But if the prick was interested in sparking a friendship with Jason, watching him having sex with his devastated wife was NOT the way to go about it.

"That's a shame you're not in the mood for me," Teddy pouted, "Because You and Luke are taking me to a concert tonight."

"I'm off the clock," Jason frowned.

"Ryan's heading home and Reynolds is off the clock tonight so Dad says it's your shift," Teddy said firmly, "I got tickets last thing to see a band I love."

"Did you, now?" Jason glared.

The last time Grey and Ana slackened the chain they had around Teddy's neck, the little prick had climbed out of the window in the bathroom and ran off to see those dead beat junkie friends of his, leaving Reynolds and Ryan with their fingers up their arses hunting around Seattle.

Teddy was clever, sneaky, there was no denying that he'd his father's intelligence. It was just a crying shame that he'd his mother's stubbornness and father's headstrongness too otherwise Teddy could have used his brain for something productive. But the boy couldn't be told.

"Yes, I did," Teddy said, stubbing out his smoke, "They trust me but they wont let me go with Sawyer unless you come too. I told Dad I didn't need two baby sitters but he's adamant."

"Excuse me, Teddy," Jason mumbled then, unable to believe this utter bullshit. He'd told Grey he had an important hospital appointment with Gail. Surely he wouldn't have Jason head out on a baby sitting job with Theodore?

.

 **Meanwhile…**

 **.**

Teddy was an arsehole for springing this concert on them all. Luke had no idea why Ana or Mr Grey had agreed to let Teddy go; how could they trust him? Sure, he was 18 now but still; he acted like a child for them. He was disobedient, he was dishonest, he was stubborn, he was arrogant, he was self-entitled but worst of all; he was such a wasted potential.

Luke missed the Tedster. He missed his little buddy who'd clung to his legs and aspired to be like him.

' _mommy I be getted my hair spiked like Wook?'_

' _Mommy I learn guitar like Wook?'_

' _Daddy can I play football like Wook?'_

' _Sawyer, Teddy's got a runny tummy and he's asking for you. Would you mind?'_

' _Dad, why don't you listen to cool music like Luke does?'_

' _Mom, I'm not wearing a parka to school! Luke doesn't have to wear one!"_

' _Luke, can you train me to be a Navy SEAL?'_

It seemed the minute Teddy hit puberty he became a royal cunt. There was no other word to describe him. Ryan was his CPO and the poor guy was constantly running after him and chasing his ass. He was skipping classes, smoking weed, which was legal but beside the point, talking 'street' for a period in time, spending daddy's money to buy himself friends.

He'd not bothered to go to any of his college interviews, he lied about applying Luke was almost certain.

Grey and Ana were at their wits end but they had so much else going on in their lives that Teddy was doing nothing but adding to the troubles. Grey was attempting to break into politics and campaigning whenever he got a spare moment. The success of his _Help The World_ educational campaign, twinned with his devotion to feeding the poor in Washington State made him a prime candidate for the people. Whilst trying to break through the glass ceiling, he was also still head of GEH however there were talks of creating a board to help him run the company if he were to become successful in his political advancements.

From the hoods of Detroit to the Big Leagues, Luke had to give it to Grey; he was the definition of an Underdog and boy how people love the underdog.

Supporting her husband, Ana was still chief editor for her company and on the side she was writing little romance novels. She'd recently had massive success with her novel ' _He Won My Heart_ ,' a book about a tortured and twisted beastly Lawyer who finds love with an innocent discount store worker- _familiar much?_

Talk about writing what you know, Luke had thought when he'd read his copy.

Ryan's twin brother was a big shot Lawyer in NYC so Ana had been able to use his contacts for research purposes and Gail had been the woman who'd pushed Ana to release the book after she was privileged enough to read it. Ana was doing little tours to local bookshops at the current moment, whilst juggling her editorial work as well as her wifely duties to her politician-wannabe husband and her two children.

Teddy fucking around on the sidelines was exceptionally detrimental to his parents personal happiness, dreams and ambitions. One could argue that he was acting out for attention…but it could also be argued that if that were the case, why was Phoebe such a little darling?

At the age of sixteen, Phoebe was the model daughter as far as Luke was concerned. She was Ana's double; utterly gorgeous with beautiful blue eyes and a warm smile. She was however very shy and had been the victim of some horrific bullying which had seen her completely shy away from the public spotlight, unlike her brother. She adored structure and was exceptionally neat and precise with all things, much like her father. She thrived on control and order and stability; she'd a routine which made keeping her safe so much easier.

Lately she had been showing an interest in enlisting in the Navy, following in the footsteps not of her mother or her father but of her bestfriend, fitness buddy and favourite uncle; Jason Taylor. Ana was utterly against the idea of her ' _little princess leaving home_ ' but Grey supported his daughter's decision, the father-and-daughter identical in all but looks. He understood her in a way which Ana just didn't.

For that reason, Luke knew for a fact that Grey was allowing Jason to train Phoebe. When she was old enough to enlist, the decision would be entirely hers, just as dropping out of Harvard had been Christian's, but he would not see his daughter go to the Navy unprepared. Jason was only too glad to spend time with his 'second daughter' and the pair often went to the shooting range on a Thursday night…Ana thought Phoebe was at track racing.

Grey was going to have his balls cut off if Ana ever figured out the truth. Heck, Luke wasn't even allowed to know because of his closeness to Ana. He'd worked it out, he thought, since Taylor had just been spending more time with Phoebe at nights. Luke didn't believe Phoebe was training for a marathon like they said whenever he caught the two running with weighted bags around the estate and he also remembered Ana ranting and venting in his ear about Phoebe and the Navy. Two plus two made four, in Luke's mind.

Luke only wished Teddy would begin to show some sort of drive to do something with his life. Sure, joining the Navy wasn't for everyone, but Phoebe was certain it was where she wanted to be which the most important thing was. Teddy just didn't seem to have a drive to go anywhere.

Or rather, Teddy was driven to go wherever there was liquor, booze and pussy.

How that kid hadn't gotten someone pregnant yet was beyond him; the kid had the highest sex drive possible, and Luke had driven Ana and Grey many a time. Apparently there was someone who fucked more than Christian Grey; Theodore Grey.

Going to a music concert was going to be utterly hellish, especially when Luke just knew that Jason was going to be unimpressed with being rota'ed in. But Ryan had been working seven days on a trot now and Reynolds and his boyfriend, Craig, had their adopted Daughter's clarinet recital tonight. The other members of staff were just background guys who guarded the estate and the places of work, not the instant family members and so it was fucking useless at trying to convince them to do extra shifts. Dicks.

Sighing, Luke stepped out of the shower in the staff room and walked over to his locker. He always kept spare clothes inside, the SEAL in him wanting to always be completely prepared for whatever life threw at him. He paused once he'd his boxers on and stared at the photo of his fiancée, Danni, which he'd pinned inside the door. She was holding their seven year old daughter, Isla, their eleven year old daughter, Eddie, stood beside her mommy. Three of the most beautiful women in Luke's life; his ladies. All three had blonde hair like Danni, the girls having Luke's blue-green eyes and smile. Stunning girls, even if he did say so himself.

He finished hauling on his skinny jeans and Guns and Roses shirt; surely that was appropriate, discreet, clothes for the night?

Running a little gel through his hair, he grinned at himself in the mirror before heading downstairs into the main security office. Gail always left them dinner even if she was going out so he helped himself to one of the subs in the mini-fridge whilst staring at the computer monitors and making sure all was well the Greys.

Christian Grey was in his office, practicing a presentation of some sort.

Ana was in the living room watching the television with the Taylor's bulldog, Lesley, snuggled up in her lap.

Phoebe was doing homework beside her, occasionally looking up from her pad of paper and laughing with her mom.

Teddy was…huh.

Teddy wasn't in his room.

Luke groaned inwardly and sat forward, flicking through the cameras dotted over all points in on the Estate. In total there were 125 different live CCTV feeds; Grey's land was so vast. But there were 20 different screens to view each sector from and in seconds Luke located Teddy lingering by the Staff car park smoking a joint.

Yeah, because the bodyguards tooootally didn't know about that habit. Idiot.

Luke had to smirk that Teddy thought that smoking a little pot was a big ass act of rebellion. Such a trustfund kid. Luke prayed his daughters didn't go through this phase; he wouldn't be able to keep a straight face if Eddie thought she was a badass for doing a little pot and staying out till eleven. When Luke was Teddy's age he was enlisted and learning to use guns; try that for badass.

"Luke?" Ana called and Luke got up instantly, walking through into the main house and into the living room.

"Yes ma'am?" Luke smiled. He loved Ana; for the last decade and a bit Ana Grey had become an exceptionally dear friend to Luke. She was very fair and had a wicked sense of humour which Luke adored. They got on like a house on fire and he felt honoured to have been able to work alongside her; it was the easiest job he'd ever had, even when she'd had two young children at her feet.

"Are you sure you're okay keeping Teddy out of trouble?" Ana asked curiously, scratching Lesley's wrinkly face. Jason had asked Ana to watch him whilst he took Gail to the hospital for an appointment and Ana was more than glad to have the dog. She loved him dearly, they all did, even if he was wrinklier than Luke's scrotum.

Luke saw that Ana was nervous about letting her son go to this concert and rightly so; last time he was trusted to go to a concert he'd been fifteen and had deliberately gave Ryan and Reynolds the slip only to be found by them two hours later so drunk he'd shit himself.

In two hours.

He'd drunk so much he'd shit himself…in two hours.

Luke still had no idea how he'd managed that little party trick. But he was impressed by it for sure.

Grace had lectured him sternly when Teddy sobered up in the hospital. Grey had lectured Ryan and Reynolds but Jason had fought their corner fiercely and stated the facts; Teddy was evasive and took great joy out of ' _outwitting_ ' the security team and ' _lying to them_ '. Teddy had said he was going to the bathroom and climbed out of the window back out onto the streets, the concert having been a bluff, and the guards had had to track his mobile phone which led them to where they'd found him; passed out with his friends, poisoned with alcohol.

"Honestly, Ana, he'll know better than to repeat last time with Jason and I watching him," Luke promised, sitting down on the sofa beside Phoebe.

"You smell nice, Luke," Phoebe complimented, Luke seeing she was doing arithmetic on her pad of paper.

"Thanks, Pheebs," Luke smiled, "I showered tonight."

"That's a first," Ana quipped and then laughed when Luke gave her a pouting face.

Luke looked over at the television, seeing Ana and Phoebe were engrossed in Game of Thrones. He smirked wickedly then before staring back at Ana, "Joffery dies."

"Sawyer!" Ana shouted furiously, "You asshole!"

"Mom, language," Phoebe retorted with a smirk which was all her father's. She was about to comment more when Jason walked into the room.

He looked pissed but Luke had anticipated that he would be.

"Mrs Grey, Teddy has just informed me that I'm to accompany him to an event tonight?" Taylor asked tightly.

"I think so, Taylor. Christian organised the rota for it," Ana said, Jason nodding before marching down the corridor. Luke saw Ana's uncertain look and so he got up and hurriedly followed Jason down the hall to Grey's office.

The Big Cheese was looking relatively well for having two kids at 18 and 16. As he'd aged, Mr Grey had lost a little muscle tone, choosing to stay in bed with Ana longer than jogging with Taylor. He was still incredibly fit but he certain had a bit of an ass and a fuller face; only noticeable to the staff whose job it was to watch the man all day. Grey was also supporting a dark coloured beard which gave him a certain regal air about him, looking majestic too with flecks of silver beginning to show.

Yup; considering the guy was in his forties, he was still a solid ten/ten and very much still Ana's Mr Perfect. Which Luke was seriously envious of; he'd had found his first grey pubic hair yesterday and Danni had laughed so hard she'd given herself a nosebleed. So whilst Grey was living up to Times magazine's title 'Prince of Seattle', Luke was being laughed at by his Ladies for starting to snore.

"Mr Grey, I requested the evening off," Jason said firmly and Luke watched as Grey took off his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes.

"Mr Taylor," Grey said, squeezing the bridge of his nose, "I said I would give you time at the hospital as a goodwill gesture. You're back now. There's no one else to cover and you're rota'ed in."

Uh-oh, he did not just 'Mister' Taylor…

"But sir, I've been with Gail at the hospital all evening," Jason pressed, "We'd hoped to spend the night together."

"I appreciate that, Jason, I do. And I gave you a few hours off today to go with Gail. But I employ you to keep my family safe and expect you to be able to do that when you're on shift. I'm sorry, Taylor but if you don't go with Teddy tonight I'll have to consider it an unauthorised absence," Grey said with a shake of his head.

Luke saw Jason's jaw tighten. Grey never asked for much considering the ridiculous benefits which they all received. It wasn't like him to put his foot down either. Luke could see Jason was trying to remind himself of that to keep his anger truly in check. Yes, Gail had probably had a shitty afternoon, but Gail didn't pay Jason an $80,000 baseline salary with more bonuses than any employer Luke had ever known. The guy had built Taylor a house for fuck sake.

"Is this going to be a problem, Jason?" Grey asked him after the marine stood a little too long glaring at the Boss in silence.

"...no sir."

"Thank you, Taylor," Christian said and Luke saw the guy let out a breath of air. Apparently he, too, thought Jason would've walked out the door just then, "I'm sorry I can't authorise you to be off longer tonight. Ryan's been working all week and Reynolds has Mei's clarinet recital and booked the weekend off months in advance. Please don't think I never sought out other options."

"Sir," Jason mumbled and then he looked at Sawyer, "Give me two minutes with Gail."

"Sir," Luke said, to Taylor now. After nearly three decades of friendship Luke knew when not to fuck Jason around with wise cracks. Tonight was that night for sure. Nope. Nope. Nope.

The big bear left and headed to his cottage via the adjoining security room and staff quarters, wordlessly. Even Ana and Phoebe didn't dare look his way.

"What was Gail at the hospital for?" Grey asked Sawyer now, stroking his beard. Fuck, Luke wished he could grow a beard like that. The bastard looked so bloody majestic.

"I don't know, Sir," Luke said honestly because Taylor had sprung the appointment on him just as quickly as he'd sprung it on Grey.

"If you did know, would you tell me?" Grey asked next, watching Luke closely.

"Probably not, sir," Luke admitted, "Will that be all for this evening?"

"Yes, Sawyer. Please keep him out of trouble," Grey said firmly.

Luke nodded and headed out of the Boss's office, going to check the security cameras one last time.

.

 **At the concert,**

 **The Arena,**

 **University District,**

 **Seattle,**

.

"Thanks for bringing me here, Sawyer," Teddy said as he and Luke walked into the main hall, Taylor with the building's security staff and giving them a heads up that Theodore Grey was with them tonight.

"It's fine, Ted." Luke said with a shrug, tucking his ticket into his jacket pocket, "It's been a while since I was at a concert so I'm actually looking forward to it."

"Good," Teddy replied and gave Luke a smile which was all his father's. He was a handsome young chap. It was a shame to see him acting out as much as he did, "Wanna get some grub before the gig starts?"

"Concert food's pricy. You buying?" Luke smirked and walked with Teddy towards the eatery. They approached a burger shack with a slight queue but it certainly smelt alright to Luke. He pulled his wallet out of his jean pocket but was halted when Teddy shoved his hand away.

"Yeah, it's my treat. I've been doing odd jobs for cash," Teddy nodded and, fuck me, Luke saw that Teddy was packing some serious cash in his Hugo Boss wallet.

 _Odd jobs?_

"What have you been up to?" Luke frowned, making a mental note to question why Teddy had so much dolla in his pocket. That would just be what Grey wanted now that he was branching into politics; his eldest sung tied up in some sort of drug crime.

God knows Teddy couldn't be bothered getting a little weekend job.

"Oh nothing really. Just little bits and pieces," Teddy evaded. Luke didn't press it. Later, he would. But for now they were getting closer to the front of the line, "What will Jason want?"

"Oh. Err, just get him some fries. No vinegar," Luke said, "And a cola."

"You want a beer?" Teddy asked curiously, "I won't tell dad."

"Music to my ears, Tedster. But nah, I've got to behave. Burger and a cola too for me," Luke smiled, "I'll go grab us that free table and let Jason know where we are if you're sure you want to pay? Concert food is overpriced."

"Yeah I've got this. Go sit down," Teddy nodded.

Wow, that was odd, Luke thought when he sat down and text Jason. The bear would be in the security room for a little bit, seeing how they worked their systems.

Maybe Teddy was starting to mature finally?

Luke watched Teddy carrying their food to a table to put sauce on his and Jason's fries. Yeah, maybe he was finally beginning to mature. Heaven knows it was a long time coming.

Teddy carried their food over on a tray and Luke grinned as he picked up his burger, taking a big mouthful. He used to bring Danni to this venue for concerts every month. They'd have a burger, watch a band they liked and have a few drinks whilst the Taylors looked after Eddie and Isla for them. Eating this rubbery burger was a happy memory of those little date nights.

"Thanks again, Luke," Teddy said, "I'm sorry Jason got dragged out here tonight."

"He'll be okay as long as everything is soothe sailing," Luke promised, smiling at Teddy as he took a sip of his cola, "Your friends not here?"

"Eh nah they're not," Teddy admitted.

 _Red flag._

 _Red flag in Luke's mind._

Why come to a gig without friends? Was he planning on skipping out on them again to go to some party and get utterly sloshed?

 _Surely not._

Yes, Grey and Ana were exceptionally overprotective but Teddy's old friends were questionable though. That's why his parents pulled him out of his first school and enrolled him into to another; his friendship group consisted of rich, spoilt brats who spent money on party drugs, alcohol and stole their parent's cars for fun. Teddy having to get his stomach pumped at the age of fifteen had been mortifying and terrifying. If Ana or Christian knew Teddy was going to be seeing them then Luke was sure Teddy not be allowed to leave for his own safety.

But surely he wasn't going to attempt to sneak away like he'd done when he was fifteen? Both Luke and Jason weren't stupid and they anticipated that sort of behaviour from Teddy.

"There's a girl I like," Teddy said then, and Luke relaxed a little. Ahh…a girl, "She's a solid ten, Luke. Stunning. And she's flexible."

"Flexibility is a winning point," Luke chuckled, imagining watching Danni trying to touch her toes. She was so unfit it made him laugh, "So what's your plan to impress her?"

"Accidently bump into her. So, you know, if you and Jason can play it cool?" Teddy grinned, shaking his head as he sipped his own lemonade.

"Sure, sure," Luke winked, finishing his soda and picking at Jason's fries whilst they waited for the bear, "How'd you meet her?"

"Tinder," Teddy admitted and then smiled when Luke pulled a face, "Oh come on. I'm eighteen; I'm not looking for love."

"Still," Luke smirked, "What's your profile like?"

"All my pictures are fully clothed," Teddy said with a roll of his eyes, "I'm not that much of a twat."

"Just checking, Tedster," Luke smiled, surprised that he was actually enjoying Teddy's company right now. It had been years since he had and god Luke missed those days. He'd two daughters so Teddy had always held a special place in Luke's heart, "Just, you know, give me a code if you're going to fuck her."

"I'll twit like an owl," Teddy smirked, " _Twit-tawoo, I'm getting boooob, don't tell my mom-tawoo_ ," he demonstrated.

"That'll work," Luke laughed, "Jason uses the same sorta thing to keep us from going into the Taylor's cottage; ' _Luke I'm getting a coffee from through the house_.'. We have our own coffee machine in our staff kitchen…he's totally not getting coffee."

"I'll bear that in mind," Teddy chuckled, sitting back in his seat and looking at his wrist watch then.

Luke finished stealing Jason's fries then frowned when his stomach began to suddenly cramp and burn. He felt his saliva thickening too, which panicked him a little; he felt like he was going to be sick.

"You okay, Luke?" Teddy asked curiously.

Luke shook his head, his stomach burning. Before he could get up and find a trash can or a toilet, he'd leant over the side of his chair and threw up violently.

"Ooow!" Luke moaned, taking a deep breath before being sick again, staring down at the mess he'd just made before his stomach heaved again and he vomited again.

Some random goth girl screamed as he upchucked on her shoes.

And then on her bag.

And then on his lap.

And then on the table.

Teddy was gone.

Luke frowned, wiping his watery eyes as he looked down on the table and spotted a small, empty bottle. He picked it up and cursed loudly; ipecac.

That fucking bastard!

"Teddy!" Luke shouted and stood but he managed all but two steps before his burning stomach caused him to fall into a crouch, "Teddy?! Jason!?"

He reached into his pocket and hit one, speed dial taking him straight through to Ana Grey whilst his stomach lurched again and he threw up on the ground. Ideally he'd call Taylor but that involved hitting two different numbers, and he just couldn't deal with that right now; his stomach was on fire, "Oh fucking hell."

 _"Sawyer?"_ Ana answered.

"That fucker drugged-urghup!" he vomited again, eyes pouring as he coughed up bile which only aggravated his burning stomach more.

" _Luke, what's happened?_ " Ana repeated worriedly.

"He spiked my drink with a whole bottle of Ipecac and legged it. I can't move; I'm allergic to this shit. Jason's in the security room here," Luke moaned, "I can't get Jaso-urghup!"

.

.

 **I really wanted to do a story with an older Teddy. From the stories I've read on here, Teddy always seems to grow up to be a decent soul but I think I'll probably take a different approach with him; make him a little spoilt, a little sheltered and pushing boundaries to cover up the fact that he's anxious and worried. I also imagined Christian and Ana to be very protective parents given all they went through together in the past; they've seen that the world can be a scary place which I think would trickle into their parenting; it would be hard not to be affected by their past experiences.**

 **It's just an idea which I'm playing around with; I love writing action and imagining Teddy walking in on something which puts his life in danger seems like a good way to have a spoilt Teddy and a grumpy Taylor working together; unlikely forces haha.**

 **It's not going to be in affiliation with either Hunted or Walk On The Wild Side, but I'm super lazy to reinvent character backgrounds for the secondary lot (the guards, Gail etc). So similarities are simply because I'm super lazy. Fingers crossed Jason doesn't end up in hospital this time! Gun shots and then Septicaemia. Comes in threes though, right?**

 **As always, all characters belong to E. !**

 **Hopefully you like it :)**

 **D x**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two**

 **.**

 **Grey Mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle,**

 **11 years ago…**

.

"Taylor what do we call our babies?" Phoebe asked, looking up at Jason with those big blue eyes which almost always saw the security staff, Marines, SEALs, and Rangers alike, bowing to her ever wish.

With her thick brown curls and porcelain skin, five year old Phoebe was the double of Ana. Utterly gorgeous and warm and cuddly and all Jason's for the night.

Gail was away visiting her sister tonight and Ana and Mr Grey had an _'emergency'_ parent teacher conference with Teddy's teachers. So Jason was the baby sitter tonight and he had been so excited that he'd bought Phoebe two new outfits for her favourite dollies as well as a new pair of fleecy Pyjamas with Elsa and Olaf on the front.

He was a sucker for those big blue eyes that was for sure.

"What do you want to call our babies?" Jason asked with a smile, sitting cross legged on the floor and cradling one of two baby dolls; Phoebe's favourite hobby. Willingness to play Mommys And Daddys was a job requirement now and Jason adored it; it reminded him of his Sophie when she'd been little. Playing House had been all his little girl had wanted to do when she was Phoebe's age so Jason believed himself to be more than qualified to play 'Mommys and Daddys' on request.

"I dunno!" Phoebe exclaimed, pushing Baby Two in her Silver Cross Victorian pram, "What do you want to call them? You're the daddy!"

"What about Jessica?" Jason offered, watching Phoebe thinking about that, "Or Callum for the boy?"

"No those names are boring. Pick something else," Phoebe demanded, fussing over the pram as she walked around the living room.

"Okaaaaay," Jason laughed, "I like Thomas then."

Phoebe rolled her eyes, Jason's heart swelling at how adorable she was. "No, say 'David'." she whispered loudly.

"Okay," Jason said in a stage whisper before clearing his throat and speaking louder, "I want to call one baby David."

"Okay fine. The boy one can be David," Phoebe declared, as though it hadn't been her idea in the first place, "But the girl one is called Abbey."

"Abbey and David," Jason nodded in understanding before pulling a face and looking at the baby doll in his arms, "Ew, Abbey needs her diaper changed. That's mommy's job."

"Daddy's do diapers too!" Phoebe exclaimed, rolling her eyes like Ana did, "Men. Honestly."

Jason laughed and watched as the little lady systematically stripped, wiped and redressed the baby, pulling all the appropriate facial expressions before rubbing Abbey's back tenderly, "There! All clean!" she smiled then looked at her wrist where Jason reckoned she was imaging having a watch on, "Daddy you'll be late for work!"

"Oh no! Where do I work?" Jason asked as he stood and picked up the rucksack she handed him.

"Emm...you're a baker," Phoebe decided with a long hesitation.

"A baker?" Jason repeated for clarity.

"A baker for puppies," Phoebe said with determination, "from Africa."

"I'm a baker for puppies from Africa?" Jason said with a complete straight face; he might be a Marine but by God you did what a little girl asked you.

"Yes," Phoebe nodded, carrying Baby Abbey in her arms as she picked up a plastic loaf of bread and one of Teddy's toy cars, "Here's your dinner and car. Have a good day at work Sailor. Bring me back cakes." she said and stood on her tiptoes for a kiss which Jason gave her.

And then he gave one to Abbey.

And then one to David.

And then he drove his toy car around the Grey's living room because he had to get to work. Whilst he 'drove' to work, Phoebe continued to feed the babies and talk to them. She was so engrossed in her little world of imagination that she was even singing to the babies, making them promises which she'd obviously heard her mother saying to both her and Teddy. It was utterly adorable, especially when she looked over at him and declared that it was now time for him to come back to the house.

When Jason approached Phoebe's plastic kitchen set, she smiled widely, turning the knobs and switches as she cooked him a plastic pan of spaghetti, "Hello Sailor. How was your day?"

Obviously Phoebe had heard Gail and was mimicking her too; kids really were parrots.

"It was tough. Those puppies from Africa just keep eating and eating. I could barely bake enough!" Jason exclaimed, sitting cross legged in front of her little table set and sipping an empty tea cup.

"Oh Daddy. That's not good! Well Abbey has runny poops." Phoebe informed, staring intently at her plastic oven, "I need you to rub her belly better like Daddys do."

"Of course, mommy. How's David?" Jason asked as he picked up the pink clothed baby like Phoebe asked and rubbed her plastic belly in a fashion similar to that which Mr Grey did whenever his children complained of sore tummies.

"David! Huh! He's a naughty boy. He peed on my face!" Phoebe exclaimed in disgust, "Silly willy!"

"Sometimes baby boys do that," Jason reminded her, "He probably didn't mean it."

"Takes after his father; always missing the potty," Phoebe said and rolled her eyes once more, "Honestly; men!"

Jason just smiled and burped Abbey to keep the little lady happy whilst she cooked him dinner on her plastic kitchenette.

It was his happy place; playing with the kids on his downtime. He cherished the innocence and loved the protectiveness he felt mixed in with the warm fuzzies he also experienced.

They continued to play for hours until Phoebe became tired and decided she didn't want to play anymore but rather just cuddle Jason for warmth. It was past her bedtime but Jason didn't want to tuck her up just yet, enjoying how good it felt to get little girl snuggles on the sofa.

God he missed Sophie terribly but Phoebe was helping him grieve the time he lost with his own daughter. Yeah, he still made the effort and fought his abusive ex-wife Dolly for regular custody meetings, but it wasn't the same. He was devastated to have missed out on his own daughter's childhood.

Both he and Phoebe were dozing off when suddenly Teddy stormed into the living room, Ana and Christian chasing him down. Phoebe was still sound asleep but Jason jumped in shock, looking over the family.

"Teddy, get your butt back here," Ana huffed, throwing her scarf off.

"No, I don't want to," Teddy yelled angrily, "Leave me alone."

"Theodore," Christian attempted then, "Do not speak to your mother like that."

"Why not? She's going to speak to me like that!" Teddy countered. When it came to Teddy's stubbornness, he'd clearly inherited a combination of Christian and Ana's, he was too stubborn for his own goddamn good.

"Fine. Go to your room. But you're grounded," Christian shrugged, "Until you learn to speak to adults with respect."

"That's not fair!" Teddy yelled, getting upset now that there was a punishment in place, "You're supposed to take my side!"

"Teddy, your teachers say you're not wearing your glasses," Ana mumbled, "You're failing English because of it."

"You don't understand!" Teddy sobbed and ran upstairs, slamming his door.

Jason pulled a face and waved at the deflated parents, Ana scooping up Phoebe from Jason's arms and taking her to her bedroom.

"Tough night, Sir?" Jason asked curiously.

"The worst," Christian mumbled, "Teddy's failing English. Badly. Turns out he has had homework all year but he's just not doing it. He's not doing any homework, actually and he's been forging our signatures in his homework jotter so the teacher didn't crack on."

"I'm sorry, Mr Grey," Jason sighed.

"Me too," Christian huffed, "The teacher caught him forging his mom's signature which is why they called us today. Turns out he's flunking across the board. I can't help him though if he's not honest with us so he got a real telling off in the car home."

"Is he failing everything, sir?" Jason asked curiously.

"Nah, he's good at arts and music. Maths is okay too, he's not top of the class but he's managing. P.E is his best by far but he's not interested in doing the theory behind it," Grey said and rubbed his eyes before shaking his head, "We'll get him a tutor. I don't want to think about it yet. How was Phoebe?"

"She was fine," Jason shrugged, "Barely a peep. I just left her to play while I did my paperwork," he lied; Grey didn't need to know about his and Phoebe's adventure this evening. There was one thing to play dollies with a little girl but it was a completely different thing to admit to doing to another adult.

Grey stared at Jason hard then, an amused smile playing on his lips as his eyes shifted up to Jason's gingery hair, "You just did paper work?"

"Yes Sir."

"That's a shame," Grey shrugged, "I think Pink hairclips are very much your style," he winked and headed to his family, "You're dismissed for the night, Taylor."

.

 **Present day…**

 **At the concert,**

 **The Arena,**

 **University District,**

 **Seattle,**

.

"Luke what the fuck happened?!" Jason snapped as he knelt down in front of Luke, a crowd of concert goers circling him too. He was careful not to kneel in vomit; this was a five thousand dollar suit and Gail would murder him.

"Teddy spiked me with ipecac," Luke shuddered, "I'm allergic. The lining in my stomach doesn't-urghrup! Aw fuck. It doesn't cope with it." he admitted and yeah, the poor bastard was wriggling around like a worm with his hands wrapped around his torso, insides burning.

"It's okay, Luke," Jason soothed and stroked Luke's cheek softly, watching as a member of the medical staff called for an ambulance for Luke. Being at a concert venue they probably thought Luke had taken drugs or drank too much alcohol. That made it easier to write off rather than the son of _The Prince Of Seattle_ drugging his bodyguard.

"That little prick." Luke growled angrily, tears in his blue-green eyes, "It's like acid."

"I know. I'll get him good for you though," Jason said firmly, stroking Luke's shoulder before leaving him in the capable hands of the medics on sight as Jason himself ran out into the streets looking for that little brat.

Surely now Grey and Ana and everyone else charmed by Teddy's lovable Rogue persona would finally see what a fucking nightmare he was to baby sit. Sneaking away momentarily is one thing but to drug staff to do so?

Mr Grey was in serious trouble with Luke for this. As an employer, there was a limit. And this was the limit for sure; curled up in a ball vomiting and crying because the employer's son had slipped him something his body couldn't deal with. Jason was the spokesman for any complaints the guards had and by God Grey was in for a good'un.

He ran outside with his phone in hand, Reynolds calling him which was just fucking perfect timing.

 _"What's happened?"_ Reynolds snapped, " _Ana called me in. Said it was an emergency._ "

"Teddy's missing. He drugged Luke," Jason said quickly as he jogged towards the University District where Jason was sure Teddy would have run, "Help me find him."

" _That little prick_ ," Reynolds said, " _Right I'm in the security room. Jason I want to put in a complaint when this is done._ "

"Join the queue," Jason stated, "I've too much in my personal life to deal with. In fact, Reynolds? I'm handing in my notice. I'm not doing this for another year."

 _"Jason-"_

"Nope. I'm done. I'm going to retire," Jason said, "Get a part time job, do some volunteering with Veterans. Be with Gail. This shit isn't helping my blood pressure."

 _"We'll talk about this later,_ " Reynolds growled, " _I've got a loc on Teddy's phone. He last used it to call one of his friends on the Black List not far from your position but he's not used it again."_

The black list were friends of Teddy's who he'd met at his first high school before Grey and Ana pulled him out because they were incredibly dangerous. They were the sons and daughters of millionaires who spent Jason's entire monthly salary on one night of party drugs, fast cars and top line liquor.

" _He's updated his Instagram, Jason, with a photo of himself and a girl,_ " Reynolds announced in his ear, _"Right he's in Liquid Knights. You know that place?"_

"Yes. I'll be in touch. Can you come down and move the Audi?" Jason asked, feeling a little guilty that the man had had to miss his adoptive daughter's first clarinet recital for this utter bullshit. Yes they were paid well to deal with this sort of crap but they still had to receive some form of dignity from their employer.

" _Yes, Boss_ ," Reynolds said and hung up as Jason ran in a sprint.

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **Liquid Knights,**

 **University District,**

 **Seattle**

.

Teddy grinned as he walked through the back of Liquid Knight, looking for Elizabeth. She'd gone to the bathroom ten minutes ago but he reckoned he could join her for another ten minutes if he asked nicely and flashed her a confident grin.

Girls seemed to dig confidence, Teddy had learnt.

Where the hell were the bathrooms in this place?

He'd only ever been here once and he'd been coked out of his nut with his friends. They'd been chucked out too because Jamie had whitied all over the dancefloor on the bouncer's shoes. That had been the same night Ryan had scooped him out of a park after he'd passed out.

Good night.

"Elizabeth?" Teddy called out, "You about?"

He couldn't really read the signs on the doors and he couldn't see any symbols to advise him better of the bathrooms so he kept walking up stairs and to the left.

In the distance, he heard voices so he quickened his step in the hopes that it was either Elizabeth –in which case he was gonna screw her- or it was a member of staff that could advise him.

'… _no please…I don't know anything about…please…no,'_

Teddy frowned as he began to over hear the conversation being had.

' _Derek…You ask for H, I give you H, but you still need to pay me, son. That's business.'_

' _But Slick, Slick, I just need more time,'_

' _That's a pretty ring your wife has. You sure you don't have money?'_

' _Leave my wife alone. She has nothing to do with this.'_

' _See, when it comes to my money…I think she does have something to do with this,'_

Teddy began to hesitate but continued forward; someone needed help by the sound of it. If he needed money, Teddy would pay. He'd enough in his wallet; H wasn't that expensive when your father was a billionaire, after all. Teddy knew that full well.

The door the conversation was coming from was ever so slightly ajar, wedged on a piece of shard glass which had prevented it from closing on the latch. It wasn't much but it was enough for Teddy to grab a peek.

Three men were in the room, stood tall and in suits. A fourth man was sat in a crouch on the floor, looking utterly terrified. Teddy assumed that man to be Derek.

Slick must have been the slimmer of the other three men; he was certainly more animated and wired, waving-

Fuck.

He was waving a gun around.

Years of growing up with Taylor and the others had taught Teddy to respect guns and to never touch them. They were for experts to use but this guy just didn't seem to be stable enough to hold one. He was waving it around like a god damn flag on Independence Day.

Slowly, Teddy pulled his phone from his pocket and began to record through the small slit of vision that he had.

' _Slick, two more days. I'll get the money,_ ' Derek begged from the floor.

' _I want it now, Derek_ ,' Slick hissed, ' _I need it now!_ '

' _I can get you it_!' Derek promised.

' _I'm done waiting_ ,' Slick countered and lifted the gun.

 **Pop. Pop. Pop.**

Teddy expected a larger noise as he watched Slick fire his gun three times into Derek, the man slumping to the floor. He felt physically sick as he slowly tried to back away from the door.

Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh-

"There you fucking are!" Jason Taylor suddenly snapped at the bottom of the corridor before Teddy had the opportunity to silence him. He was walking towards Teddy at quick pace, "Get your ass-"

"Taylor, run!" Teddy exclaimed, running towards his father's CPO as the door behind him opened and the three men burst through, guns drawn in confusion. Teddy didn't dare turn around; there was too much distance between where Teddy was now, to where Taylor was, to where the exit was.

"I told you to keep an eye on the door!" Slick yelled furiously behind Teddy, no doubt at the larger two men who instinctively raised their weapons, "Kill them both!"

"Taylor, get outta here!" Teddy ordered when the guard showed no signs of running, "Taylor, run!"

Taylor lifted his weapon and fired twice, missing Teddy only just. The thugs behind Teddy panicked by the sudden gasps; this was Seattle, not Texas; they were probably surprised that Taylor even had a gone.

Teddy risked a look over his shoulder only once he was running past Taylor, seeing that his father's CPO had the men taking cover in the room they'd emerged from, firing behind the threshold.

"Taylor, come on!" Teddy shouted, holding the door open for him as the CPO continued to fire his weapon before quickly spinning on his heels and running with Teddy out the door.

.

 **Thanks everyone for the reviews and kind words! Writing a spoilt Teddy is actually a little fun haha but I promise he's not going to be a complete knob for the whole story. He's gonna get a good ol' reality check!**

 **Please let me know how you found this chapter, it's a great motivator for sure! I've also finally got round to joining the facebook group (it's only taken two completed stories to do so haha) so you can get me on there if you want to talk FS or about life in general; I'm all for making friends!**

 **Again, you guys who read and favourite stories are the best, thank you so much!**

 **Dx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter two.**

 **.**

 **Pacific Crest Trail,**

 **Snoqualmie Region,**

 **Snoqualmie Pass,**

 **Washington State,**

 **11 years ago…**

.

Christian pressed forward, sweat pouring down the back of his neck and making his hands slippery. It was hard to hold the hiking pole now, blisters forming on his hands from the tight grip. The sun was roasting hot, the first day of solid sun they'd had since Winter, Christian was sure. He could hear the wildlife around them and the smells of the forest waking up were truly humbling.

Christian adored getting out of the office and hiking, especially when he intended to camp the night by the usual spot; on top of a steep ridge which offered some truly breath-taking views.

"Lesley, heel," Taylor called, the lummox of a dog pounding towards his master. How the beast seemed to be coping was beyond Christian's comprehension but he was managing effortlessly and Taylor didn't seem overly worried about overworking him; the dog was barely panting.

Unlike Christian who was dying.

"Teddy, you good back there?" Christian called, "We're almost at the top, bud!"

"I'm okay dad," Teddy panted, struggling on behind Christian but in front of Taylor, "This is one big hill, huh?"

"Just one big hill. How's Taylor doing back there?" Christian asked then, looking back.

He heard Teddy giggle and Christian looked back over his shoulder, catching the usually stoic bodyguard crawling on his hands and knees to make Teddy laugh.

"Dad, I think Taylor needs a break," Teddy declared and Christian saw Taylor laugh and nod eagerly.

"I think so too, Ted," Christian agreed, "There's a ridge up ahead we can stop at and have one of Gail's buns."

"Yes!" both Teddy and Taylor said in unison and that seemed to speed both boys up. Not that Taylor really needed a break, Christian was sure, watching the guard take the last few strides towards Teddy and then to Christian as they all walked side by side towards the resting point. The marine was carrying their tent for the night and Christian was carrying their water whilst Teddy carried the food.

The ridge was a much needed break and Christian was able to put more sunblock on Teddy's fair skin, adjusting his hat to keep him out of the tough sun as much as possible.

"Dad it's so oily," Teddy huffed, wiping his face, "I hate this stuff."

"Everyone needs Sunblock, Teddy. The sun can make you really sick," Christian explained, rubbing some onto his face too to demonstrate, "Taylor wears it too."

"Yeah?" Teddy questioned, looking over at Jason who was giving Lesley a drink of the water.

"Yes I do, Teddy," Jason smiled, "Otherwise I end up with a nose like Ruddolph."

"Okay then. I guess," Teddy mumbled and then stretched out his back before sitting down and sighing, "Daddy, what about bears?"

"Taylor will scare them away," Christian said firmly.

"Ha!" Taylor snorted, shaking his head before packing up after their break and heading onwards, taking the lead now as they headed towards their usual camping spot.

 ***-*-*-*-* That Evening *-*-*-*-***

 **.**

Teddy sat beside his dad, looking up at Christian with a wide smile, "Thanks for taking me hiking, dad."

"It's okay, son," Christian promised, wrapping an arm around Teddy shoulders and snuggling him, "This is a beautiful view, right?" he smiled as they watched the sun setting over the mountains, the orange and pink sky setting a gorgeous glow over them. It was the most awe-inspiring sunset Christian had ever seen and he was so glad to be experiencing it with his baby boy on his first ever hike.

"It is," Teddy nodded, scratching Lesley's wrinkles as the bulldog snuggled beside him, "It's a real boys adventure, huh?"

"Yup," Christian smiled and lifted his tin of beer to his lips. Whenever he and Taylor hiked this way they would bring a couple of beers. Never more than three each, and they would space them out as a reward or they would have them over dinner if Taylor successfully caught something which he'd done tonight.

They'd had rabbit kebabs which Teddy had been able to help Jason cook, learning how to prepare a meal entirely from scratch. He'd cried at first when he'd seen Jason carrying two shot bunny rabbits but he'd gotten involved when Christian helped Jason create a fire. Overall it wasn't as nice as Gail's cooking but it certainly hit the spot after a long and tiring walk plus it meant that Teddy had learnt where meat came from; an important life lesson in Christian's mind.

"Do you and Taylor go on a lot of adventures together?" Teddy asked, sipping his juice.

"We do," Christian nodded, "Taylor is Daddy's best friend."

"Luke is my best friend I think," Teddy declared, "Or maybe Ryan. Probably Ryan actually. Do you know Ryan can name every country in the world? All of them?"

"I didn't," Christian laughed, enjoying how impressed Teddy was of the body guard's picture perfect memory. He knew Ryan was on the Autism spectrum, though was still highly functioning all things considered. He'd a perfect memory too and the ability to pick out details which Christian himself missed. Ryan was also exceptional with computer systems. Taylor had said that Ryan had single handily designed the security systems in GEH himself but wouldn't sell the system to other buyers out of loyalty; the system was one of a kind and by that sense it was impregnable.

He was also Teddy's CPO which meant they spent a lot of time together now that Teddy was no longer glued to Ana's side.

"Yeah he names them all. Even the hard places," Teddy said, "Like Kazakhstan."

"I've been there," Taylor called as he approached the father and son, Lesley lifting his droopy face but then deciding he couldn't be bothered going to Jason.

"Really?" Teddy asked, "What's it like?"

"Warm," Taylor replied, taking his pew beside his dog and Teddy, cracking open his own beer now that the plates were cleaned up, "Warmer than this."

"Is it a dessert?" Teddy asked, then frowned when the grown men laughed at him.

"A desert, not a dessert. You eat desserts," Christian corrected, "And no, I don't think it's really much of a desert."

"So where was the desert storm in then?" Teddy pressed, looking up at Taylor curiously.

"The Desert Storm?" Taylor repeated with a soft smile, "That wasn't a real weather storm, Teddy. That was a…a code name for when I worked in the desert for a bit before meeting your dad."

"Ohhhh, a code word," Teddy smiled, "I see. I see," he said and thankfully for Taylor's sake he seemed to drop it, "That rabbit was tasty, Taylor."

"Yes, Taylor, well done," Christian smiled, using his tongue to poke out a piece of rabbit from between his teeth.

"Thank you both," Taylor nodded with a smile, "I'm going to go call Gail and call it a night. See you in the tent."

"Night night, Taylor," Teddy called then yawned and snuggled in tighter against Christian, letting out a content sigh as both Grey men watched the sun sink and a beautiful starlit sky befall them.

 ***-*-*-*-* The following morning *-*-*-*-***

.

"Teddy," Christian whispered, nudging his son awake and then pointing to the corner of the tent where a large spider was scuttling about. It was large and brown, with long spindly forelegs and a tiny wee body in comparison. He felt his son jump initially but relax when he saw his father approach it fearlessly, crawling on his knees to keep from waking Jason who was still asleep, "Shhhh, Teddy, watch this."

Teddy frowned then stared wide eyed when Christian scooped it up and gently transferred it from the corner of the tent and onto Jason's sleeping bag.

"Jason's scared of spiders," Christian mumbled in Teddy's ear as he sat back with his little boy, "Shhh."

"Dad!" Teddy exclaimed in a whisper, "That's mean if he's scared."

"Being scared is a silly thing," Christian whispered.

"Don't you get scared of things?" Teddy asked curiously, watching the spider closely. Slowly, the eight legged beasty began to creep up Jason's sleeping bag, Christian seeing his son biting down hard on his lip to keep from laughing.

"I'm scared of dogs," Christian shrugged, "But I don't let fear rule me. No one should."

"How though?" Teddy asked.

"Because I take deep breaths and then think about what could go wrong," Christian explained, "Shhh," he whispered quietly, placing Teddy in his lap as they both watched intently as one long leg caressed Jason's cheek.

Then another.

Then another three.

Then a final three.

Content with its spot on Jason's cheekbones, the spider stopped moving just under Jason's closed eye.

"Jason," Christian called quietly, "It's time to get up."

"Huh?" Jason yawned and stretched before opening his eye.

He froze, mouth agape.

Then he screamed.

Or rather, it was the closest thing to a scream Christian imagined Jason Taylor would get.

"What is-fuck! Fuck!" Jason jack-knifed, kicking out in his sleeping bag as he swatted the spider away, "Fucking, shit shit!"

He leapt out of the tent in his boxer shorts, hitting his body, "Grey, you prick!"

Christian burst out laughing then and Teddy giggled too, the pair watching Jason freaking out in the chilly morning air.

"Taylor, spiders are tiny," Teddy giggled.

"Yeah yeah yeah," Taylor huffed, "You wont be saying that when a bear is chewing on you and your father as Karma," he growled, "I think that was a black widow."

"It wasn't a black widow," Christian laughed hard then, "It was just a spider."

"I'll get you back, Grey," Jason warned, "Mark my words."

.

 **The present day…**

 **Liquid Knights,**

 **University District,**

 **Seattle**

.

"Go go go!" Taylor shouted, all but shoving Teddy down the last of the stairs, through the heavy staff doors and back out into the main hub of Liquid Knights. The music was pumping loudly and it made focusing on his gun, on Teddy, on getting out and being chased all that little more difficult. And then the strobe lighting began and Jason knew full well he couldn't safely use his gun in these conditions. Not with all these civilians dancing around him.

God he'd no idea the lay out of this place and usually he'd have Reynolds acting as his eyes through his earpiece.

He was about to go left when Teddy shoved him.

"No! This way!" Teddy shouted back, grabbing Jason's wrist and pulling him through a group of purple lit women on the dance floor, "Fire exit!"

"Ok. Hurry," Taylor agreed then cursed when he spotted their chasers searching for them up on the VIP balcony. Jason sped up the pace and pushed his way through the crowds of dancers faster, Teddy still holding his wrist tightly.

One of the mob thugs spotted them and Taylor made eye contact with the ugly bastard. He called the other two men, Slick and a second bodyguard Jason reckoned, and pointed at both he and Teddy before all three drew their guns and charged down the VIP stairs into the main party. Teddy thankfully sensed Jason's sudden tension and pulled him faster through the crowds and then through a door into a quieter corridor.

A couple of queers were making out in the privacy of this corridor, Jason too hurried to be disgusted.

"Where are we?" Jason asked as he relied on Teddy's knowledge of the club.

"The smoking area is up ahead," Teddy explained, turning to look at Jason then and cursing loudly, "Taylor, you're bleeding!"

Jason looked down at his arm and cursed, realising he'd been hit with a stray bullet which had ripped through his suit and furrowed through the top of his arm.

There wasn't enough blood to make a trail, he realised, removing his tie and handing it to Teddy, "Quick, tie it tightly," he ordered, pulling his gun out and looking back at the bottom of the corridor and watching.

"Taylor I can't-"

"Do it now!" Taylor shouted, not taking Teddy's shit as he felt the teen tie up his arm and form a sort of tourniquet. It hurt like a bitch but it worked for the most part, "Go! Move!"

Together, they ran towards the fire exit at the end of the corridor, Jason jumping out first and sweeping the area in milliseconds with his outdrawn gun before turning to close the door. The cold air of the side street was a complete shock to the system after the heat and humidity of the club, Teddy looking a little shaken up now that his body temperature had plummeted

By coming out the fire exit they'd set off the alarm in the building so Taylor knew they didn't have long to move before everyone inside came pouring out. In that scenario they would end up caught in a crowd with no where to go which was arguably just as dangerous.

"Where to?" Teddy asked now, panting with the adrenaline, "Where did you park?"

"I didn't drive, I ran," Jason said then ducked when he heard a bullet shatter the glass of a window inches from his head, "Run!"

Teddy bolted on command and Jason began to return the fire, taking cover behind a car parked. He didn't have many bullets left so he knew he needed to make these ones count to let Teddy get away, biding his time before popping up and making a few shots then taking cover once more. He was panting hard and beginning to feel the sting in his arm from the gunshot wound which had ruined his suit.

His five thousand dollar fucking suit.

"Argh!" Jason growled angrily, standing up quickly and firing, shooting one of Slick's thugs in the throat. The bastard fell back and nearly landed on top of Slick, who squealed in fright as the man gurgled and choked to death. It looked exceptionally painful and sickening to see a grown man twitch and spasm before falling deathly still.

Jason prepared for the onslaught of revenge fire, taking a deep breath as he prepared to fire his last round.

" ** _Sailor!"_**

Jason's head snapped up and spotted Reynolds, running down the alley with his gun drawn, firing relentlessly towards Slick and the last living bodyguard, and giving Jason the opportunity he needed to get up and run up towards the top of the alleyway without being shot at himself, "Fuck, me!"

"Package is in Frogman's car," Reynolds explained.

Frogman. The Package.

Reynolds must have heard from Teddy what the teen had witnessed and so had reverted to using their codenames; Sailor = Jason, Frogman = Luke, Yogi Bear = Ryan, the Ranger, Whippet = Reynolds, Little Woman = Gail, The Eagle = Christian Grey. It kept their identities a secret and therefore it kept the Greys and their own families safe.

This Slick guy must have Reynold's asshole clenching to have him use the codenames without prompt.

Jason ran around the corner and spotted Luke's Subaru Impreza. It wasn't hard to miss the SEAL's ridiculous car; it was bright blue and lime green with stickers and an utterly ridiculous license plate; ' _S4WYR69_ '.

Yup, the arrogant prick's car stuck out like a sore thumb but it was a damn side better than 'GREY1', that was for sure.

Jason climbed into the front of the car, glad to see Teddy sitting in a squat in the back of the car, taking cover. Ahead of him, Jason saw that Reynolds was now running towards the car too, being chased by Slick and his bodyguard. Without thinking twice, Jason climbed back out of the car and gave the bald guard cover. Not that he really needed it; there was a reason Reynolds codename was Whippet. The guy could run like a Cheetah, he was that fast.

He zig zagged to avoid being shot before leaping towards Luke's car. He wasn't even out of breath as he climbed into the front and turned the engine on, "Lets go!"

Jason nodded, rolling down the window and using up the last of his bullets before Reynolds floored it, powering away from Liquid Knights and straight through a red light, narrowly avoiding a collision.

"What the fuck, Jason!" Reynolds snapped as he sped ahead, "Do you know who the fuck that was?"

"Ask Theodore; he seems to be good pals with them!" Jason spat, studying his arm and the tie wrapped around it. Slowly, he began to strip out of his ruined five fucking thousand dollar suit, cursing at how much doing so aggravated his arm and caused it to bleed again.

"They're not my pals!" Teddy yelled, sitting up in the backseat now, "I watched them shoot a guy!"

"You saw them murder someone?" Reynolds asked firmly, sharing a concerned look with Jason then.

Oh boy.

"Yes and I recorded it," Teddy snapped, "So lets go to the police and forget this all happened. I've learnt my lesson."

"Teddy, we can't go to the police," Reynolds said softly, "Fuck, Jason, they're a family of druglords. And Teddy's video recorded a shooting. That guy there was the eldest son, Stefano Esposito Jr. Or 'Slick' I think they called him. It's been a while since I looked into him when I was still CIA. Jesus, Jason. If they've seen us…our faces…if they recognise us…"

"Call Craig," Jason groaned, scratching his buzzcut as he thought about the Greys and his Little Woman's safety, "Shit, if they have this car registration..."

"What's going on?" Teddy frowned, watching Jason as he pulled his mobile from his jacket pocket and called Danni. She was in danger, she and Sawyer's little girls. They needed to get out fast and go to wherever Luke's secret safe house was.

All the guards had them; it was a place off the books which only the Spouses and families knew the location of. Not even Jason knew where Luke's safe house was and Sawyer didn't know where Jason's was; it was that secretive.

"Fuck, Craig's still in the recital," Reynolds mumbled when Craig didn't answer, throwing his phone at Teddy in the back, "It's okay; they'll locate Danni first if they have the car's registration plates."

"What'll they do to Danni?" Teddy asked nervously, sitting forward in his seat and looking at Reynolds for answers as the bald guard drove ridiculously fast through Seattle.

"Kill her Teddy or worse; torture her before killing her and Sawyer's girls too. Just to send us a message," Jason snapped in Teddy's direction, shaking his head at all the goddamn trouble Teddy had caused, " _Hey, Danni, it's Sailor. I need you to go to Grandma's. There's cake in the oven for you and the girls.._."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four.**

 **A little earlier,**

 **Grey Mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle**

 **.**

 _I need to remember to double check who is going to be attending the gala next week in City Hall._

 _Oh and I have to be sure Gail remembers Phoebe's having friends around for a sleepover for her birthday this weekend._

 _Shit, and it must be Luke's birthday soon. Damn, I'll have to get him a card._

"Oh Ana," Christian grunted in her ear as he thrust.

"Mmmm, baby," Ana cooed, grabbing Christian's back and scratching his skin. That pleased him, she could hear it in his low groan.

 _Damnit Kate needs a copy of my timetable for organising the photoshoot for Grace and Carrick's anniversary present!_

"Oh shit," Ana said out loud, then kissed Christian's neck.

"Like that baby," Christian mumbled.

"Oh shit, yes," Ana called, feigning pleasure. Not that she wasn't enjoying the sex; sex was great. Even as they grew older Christian could fuck like a stallion. But sex was time consuming and tonight she really had too much on her mind to lose herself with her husband.

"I'm going to cum," Christian mumbled.

 _Perfect._

Ana pitched up her own moaning, running her hands through Christian's hair. It was still as thick and full as it had been when he was in his twenties, just specked with little bits of silver.

"Aww," Christian huffed, slumping forward a little and burying his face into Ana's shoulder, "Aw, baby," he mumbled then smiled.

"Hey, you," Ana laughed and kissed him softly.

"Hi," Christian smirked, kissing her back then chuckling himself, "So how was your day?"

"Busy," Ana said, "Yours?"

"Hectic," Christian sighed, rolling over and sighing, "It was so busy. I had a meeting with my PR team. It was good. I think I've got a good shot at breaking into politics, Ana. I don't want to sound big headed but I think I'm liked highly."

"Of course you are," Ana said firmly, "There's a reason people call you the Prince of Seattle; you're the city's hero. The amount of money you've put into underprivileged children schemes, the arts and all the different scholarships you've created. Even the veteran scheme, Christian."

"That was more a favour to Taylor," Christian pointed out.

"Christian, you're giving veterans grants for prosthetics and psychologists. Honestly, Christian. Never doubt yourself; you are loved. You'd make a fantastic candidate for the people. Honestly," Ana nodded, kissing Christian's naked shoulder, "You're a good man, Mr Grey."

"And behind every great man is an even better woman," Christian pointed out, kissing Ana gently before faltering when he heard the phone going.

"I'll get it," Ana smiled and climbed out of bed, "I need to clean myself up anyway,"

She picked the phone up off the bedside cabinet and walked through to the en suite to clean up, "Hello?"

" _Urghup! Oh fucking hell."_

 _"Sawyer?"_ Ana frowned, wincing when she heard her CPO being sick.

" _That fucker drugged-urghup!_ " Luke started but it sounded as though he were vomiting again.

" _Luke, what's happened?"_ Ana repeated worriedly. If he was sick on the job he wasn't able to keep Teddy safe. In fact, Taylor would have to make the call and return with Teddy. But what was that he'd said? He'd been spiked? Which 'fucker' had 'drugged' him? Surely not Teddy…

Ana felt her stomach sinking; she knew Teddy's promise to behave had been too good to be true. But surely he hadn't spiked Luke? Surely?

" _He spiked my drink with a whole bottle of Ipecac and legged it. I can't move; I'm allergic to this shit. Jason's in the security room here_ ," Luke moaned, " _I can't get Jaso-urghup!"_

Fuck sake Teddy.

"Luke, it's okay," Ana said firmly, hearing him choking down the phone, "It's okay, deep breaths. I'm going to call Reynolds right now. Get yourself to a hospital and I'll let Mr Grey know what's happened."

" _He's at Mei's clarinet recital_ ," Luke insisted, " _I'm okay now. I'm okay-urghup-ow my stomach. I'm allergic."_

"That's okay, Sawyer. You're not letting anyone down. I'm going to call Reynolds right now and let him know to get to you and Jason ASAP," Ana said firmly, devastated that her son would do something like this to one of their loyal bodyguards. Especially to Luke, the guard who had stood at Ana's side all through raising her children.

" _I'm sorry_ ," Luke groaned, " _I'm so sorry_."

"I'm sorry, Luke," Ana said, "God I can't fucking believe this!"

Christian appeared in the en suite, heading to the toilet to pee, "What's happened?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Teddy spiked Luke's drink with ipecac and he's gone again," Ana growled then went back to Luke, "I'm calling Reynolds right now."

" _Jason's coming,_ " Luke mumbled.

"Okay, Luke," Ana said and hung up, looking at her horrified husband, "He's bang out of line now. I can't believe he did that!"

"Jason will get him," Christian said firmly, "And you better believe he's going to be punished for this. I'm cutting his sorry ass off. Jesus, Ana," he growled, flushing the toilet and going to wash his hands, "Our Teddy did that?"

"Our Teddy spiked our bodyguard and now Sawyer's having an allergic reaction," Ana repeated to clarify for her husband, "Teddy doesn't know Luke's allergic but he was reckless enough to not give a damn about Luke. I swear to God we should have sent him to live with Ray when he first started to play up."

It had been Christian who'd been strict in keeping teddy with them and not sending him to living with Ray. He didn't want to pass their troubled son on to another man, especially one who'd been so ill lately. Three years later at Ray had sadly succumbed to his poor health which was still incredibly painful for Ana to dwell on. She had to wonder if having Teddy living with him in Portland would have given him a reason to keep himself well, to lose the weight which was straining his heart.

"There's no point dwelling," Christian said, shaking his head, "Lets get him home and hear him out-"

"Hear him out?!" Ana choked, "Christian, he harmed one of our employees! Luke can sue you if he wasn't so damn loyal. Stop being so passive about our son and get mad!"

"Ana I will hear him out and then I will get mad," Christian said firmly, walking through to the bedroom and pulling on his clothes, "I'm furious at him and I am incredibly sorry for Sawyer right now but I'm not going to lose the plot until I've spoken to Teddy calmly. He's getting cut from my bank account, that's for sure. But I want to hear what on earth went on through his head before I lose my temper."

Ana sighed but she knew Christian was right; going in guns blazing with Teddy did nothing. She'd learnt that. He wouldn't back down and instead argue back until nothing was resolved.

"Call Reynolds. Jason will keep our boy safe until we can crucify him," Christian said firmly.

.

"Right," Reynolds said, looking at Jason, "Right. Okay. Right. Craig and Mei are heading to my safe place," he said, shaking his head.

"Sawyer's still in hospital unguarded," Jason mumbled, "But Danni and the girls are heading to Luke's safe house."

"What about Gail and the Greys?" Reynolds asked.

"They wont go after my parents, will they?" Teddy frowned.

"Of course they will. If they recognised you, your entire family are in danger," Reynolds said matter of factly, not beating around the bush. Teddy had fucked everyone over and he was yet to apologise, much to Jason's anger.

"I called in Ryan," Jason said, checking his watch, "He's going to grab Gail and he's going to get Grey and Ana and Phoebe-"

"You've got to go to the police," Teddy interjected.

"Of course, Sir. Any more obvious demands you'd like to make?" Reynolds said with a silencing stare, turning back to Jason again.

They'd driven out of the city at speed and were positive they hadn't been followed. Right now they were in a carpark overlooking the river, organising themselves as best they could.

"I'm going to call Gail when you're on the move, Reynolds," Jason said, scratching his chin as he watched Reynolds making his own copy of the video Teddy had recorded of the shooting. The former CIA was definitely in his element at the given moment. Whereas Jason, Luke and Ryan provided the force, Reynolds was their intelligence. He kept them right and up to date, a weapon in his own way.

"I'll get in touch with Welch," Reynolds nodded, "We need more bodies and Welch and I can play the Police field."

"What about me?" Teddy frowned, "What do I do?"

Shut up would be a start, Jason thought, glaring a little at Teddy's continual questions. He was still waiting on an apology from Teddy for creating this clusterfuck.

"Do I go with Reynolds to the police?" Teddy pressed, "As a witness?"

"Teddy you are not going into custody," Jason growled, "You're coming with me. I'm not going to let you out of my sight until this mess is cleaned up. At least slightly."

"Where are you taking him?" Reynolds asked then shook his head, "Don't answer that. How will we find you?"

"Gail will know," Jason sighed, shaking his head then freezing when a pair of headlights drove past them on the road, "You better get going, Reynolds. I'll try and get in touch as quickly as possible."

"Okay, boss," Reynolds nodded, taking Sawyer's car keys, "Are you sure you'll be okay walking?"

"I'm a marine; we'll be fine," Jason said firmly then grabbed Teddy's shoulder and pushed him forward, "Keep everyone safe, James. Everyone."

He didn't need to say her name out loud; Reynolds knew who Jason was most worried for; his dear little Woman.

"Of course," Reynolds nodded then added to confirm, "She'll never leave my side. I promise."

"Thanks," Jason said then looked at Teddy, "Come on, you. We've got five kilometres to walk."

Teddy glared but said nothing thankfully as Reynolds drove back into the city, leaving them walking a public footpath.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N, thank you so much for the reviews! Throughout this fic I'm going to be doing snippets of the past which will eventually tie themselves into this story and pin point where this Teddy's gone so wrong. To make it easier, I'm being sure to date when things happened but I'll also use a heap of '...' so it's eye catching and will hopefully avoid confusion.**

 **Thank you for following so far!**

 **.**

 **Chapter five.**

 **.**

 **One month ago…...**

 **Taylor Cottage,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle**

"Gail?"

Jason yawned tiredly and rolled over in bed, confused as to why Gail wasn't beside him, holding him like she always did. He didn't sleep well unless she was playing the bigger spoon, holding him to her chest and stroking his hair until she fell asleep herself.

Where was she?

He'd notice her leave bed but that was a little while ago now. At the time he'd assumed it was to go to the bathroom downstairs as opposed to the one connected to their bedroom. They had an informal rule that if the individual in question needed to poo they would go to the toilet furthest away from the other, especially at night time. Ever since the Escala days they'd always done so. Luke would joke about both he and Danni shitting with the door open to 'keep the other company' but Jason couldn't imagine doing something so brutish. God no. Both he and Gail felt it important to keep a little privacy in their relationship.

The only clause in their bathroom rule was if an individual was sick. So where the hell was she at this very second if she wasn't sick?

Odd.

Groaning and cracking his neck, Jason threw on a pair of boxers and went looking for his Little Woman. Maybe she couldn't sleep and went to make herself a hot chocolate? She had been a little odd this last few days, mood swings and migraines galore. Maybe she just couldn't switch off. Jason was worried about her and he desperately hoped that he wasn't the reason for her change in demeanour.

She wasn't in the kitchen.

She wasn't in their living room.

She wasn't in the downstairs bathroom.

She wasn't with Lesley, the bulldog snoring in his wicker basket.

Where the fuck was she?

After searching each room in their homely little house, Jason had went into the security room and used the CCTV cameras to find her. Ryan was out doing a perimeter check too, Jason saw him checking in with Addlestone at the gates.

Gail, thankfully, was on one of the screens. He found her outside too, standing in just her thin night dress looking out over the Puget Sound, unmoving despite the slight wind. Jason quickly went outside after her, going out the back door in just his boxers, a Rab puffer jacket and his dog walking boots. Not exactly attractive but at three am, this was the best Jason Taylor had to offer the world.

"Gail, honey? What are you doing out here?" Jason called out curiously.

She didn't reply, nor did she even seem to acknowledge Jason was calling out to her. Instead she just continued to stand, staring out towards the Sound, taking in the view of a boat in the far distance.

"Little Woman?" he tried again, getting closer before he slowly reached out and laid his hand on her shoulder softly. She was absolutely frozen but she barely registered his touch, "Gail? Come back to bed."

"What?" Gail asked, scrunching up her face and then turning to look at him. Her eyes seemed so blank, confused and utterly lost, "What?"

"Bed," Jason repeated, stroking her cheek softly now, "I said let's go to bed."

"Where is that?"

Jason frowned as he registered her question, feeling an odd twist of anxiety suddenly in the bit of his stomach, "Bed? It's in the house, baby. Our house. Do you want to come inside and I'll warm you up?"

She stared at him in utter confusion and Jason wondered if she even knew who he was; she was that lost and small. What was going on with her?

Slowly, he pulled her away from the water's edge and towards their cottage, his arm around her shoulder and the other holding her freezing hands, "It's okay, Gail. I love you, Little Woman."

Gail looked at him and smiled weakly before walking into their home.

However, her silence only confirmed Jason's biggest fear in that horrible moment;

She didn't know who he was.

.

.

 **Present Day,**

 **Grey Mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle**

.

"Hey, princess," Christian smiled as he approached Phoebe. His youngest was just coming in from a late night run around the Estate with the Taylor's bulldog, wiping her face on a towel, "How was your day?"

"Really good," Phoebe smiled up at him, grabbing a glass of water and drinking heavily, "I bet my personal record running today."

"Did you?" Christian smiled, so excited for her, "I'm so proud. Well done, baby."

"Thanks, Dad. I'm happy too," Phoebe nodded eagerly at her father, dabbing her face with a towel once more.

It was no secret to him; Christian knew she desperately wanted to join the Navy and he fully supported her decision; she was as headstrong as Christian had been so he completely understood how much she would resent him and her mother if they were to say 'no' and not offer her support.

The only problem was that Ana was completely against the idea even after they'd all spoken about it. She believed that Phoebe was training with Jason for marathons...Christian knew otherwise because he'd asked the Marine to prepare Phoebe if she chose to go to the Navy when she was old enough to enlist.

As far as Christian saw it, Phoebe was like him and if she desperately wanted to do something she'd do it without their blessing. She didn't want to live a life in the media circle, unlike her brother, and went as far as using her mother's maiden name most days.

"I got offered a part time job actually, daddy," Phoebe told her father now, Christian feeling his chest swell with pride, "Gail and I went into town to buy new things for doing up my room this summer and we went to the coffee shop. I asked if they had any jobs going and they did."

"Well done, baby!" Christian grinned, "I'm so proud of you."

At least one of his kids was a little grounded and sensible. Christian was sure Teddy would level out eventually but he was thankful that his daughter was at least slightly more focused on her future. It was less stress for him.

"It's not much money but I can afford to buy myself pretty things," Phoebe added, stretching after her run, "So yeah. It was good day today! How's Gail anyway? She had an appointment with the doctors that I think she was a little nervous about, daddy."

"I've not asked Taylor yet," Christian admitted, "I'm going to speak to him tomorrow but I've not seen Gail tonight to ask. Your brother's at it again so your mother and I are waiting for him coming home with Jason and Reynolds. If I were you I'd maybe hide."

"Damn," Phoebe sighed, "What's happened now?"

"Ah, just the usual," Christian promised, not wanting to gossip about Teddy's actions at least until he'd the opportunity to speak to Teddy himself. The boy was in serious trouble but they would hear him out first, try and find out what it was that was bothering him so much.

He looked up then as Ana came downstairs, fully dressed after their early evening quicky. Even as she aged, Ana was still one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen; second maybe to his daughter.

After raising two kids into young adults, she'd of course aged. She wasn't as perky in places she'd once been, now was she was slim. She carried a little tummy now and her butt was a little fuller too though he really didn't care what she looked like. She was his Ana and his love for her was unconditional, something which he strived to demonstrate to her every single day.

She was wearing the skater dress she'd worn earlier today, a fake smile plastered on her face as she nodded in Phoebe's direction before going to make coffee and tea.

"Run," Christian mouthed to Phoebe, winking at his daughter who said goodnight and went upstairs to her bed early.

"I'm still so angry, Christian," Ana started before he'd even sat down at the kitchen table, "You're going to need to do all the talking. I will rip that smug look right off his face."

"Okay, baby," Christian agreed, watching with amusement as Ana somehow managed to make pouring tea aggressive. She practically stabbed the teabag with her spoon, grunting.

"And Sawyer of all people!"

"I know, baby," he repeated and took a sip of the coffee she handed him, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Ana sighed then looked up when Ryan walked through to greet them, "Ryan, I thought tonight and tomorrow were your days off? What are you doing here?"

"There's been an emergency, Mrs Grey, Mr Grey. I need to get all of you to a safe location," Ryan said firmly, "The sooner the better. Travelling light."

An emergency?

Travelling lightly?

"What do you mean?" Christian frowned in amusement.

"Mr Grey, Reynolds believes that Master Grey hit," Ryan said and then clarified, "A gang shooting a targeted individual. Both Teddy and Jason are okay but they're on the run. Reynold and Welch are with the police right now."

"What the…" Ana gasped, "My baby boy! Is he okay?"

"Jason is keeping him safe. Protocol in this situation is to remove everyone to safe houses," Ryan explained, "Jason will not let Teddy go into a witness protection program for his safety; we cannot guarantee that the gang don't have moles in the police. For your family's safety, I need you all to come with me."

"What about Gail?" Christian stammered, utterly flabbergasted.

 _Teddy had witnessed a murder…what the fuck?!_

"She's to come with us," Ryan nodded, "Welch has sourced extra men to cover the rest of your family, Sir." He said calmly, "I would recommend we perhaps begin packing. My car is out front."

"Why can't we take the Audi?" Ana frowned.

"Because the licence plate is identifiable," Ryan smiled that adorable smile, "I'm really sorry, ma'am. It's not a long drive to the safe place. I swear."

"How are me, my wife and daughter, Gail and a bulldog going to fit in your goddamn Fiat 500, Ryan?" Christian growled in utter disbelief.

"With difficulty, Sir," Ryan quipped, trying to keep his face even despite the fact Christian was one hundred percent sure the bastard was desperate to smirk.

"And our son is safe?" Ana stressed, terrified for Teddy, all anger leaving her now.

"Jason will not let anything happen to him, ma'am," Ryan nodded, "We need to get moving however. I'll go help Phoebe pack."

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **Five miles outside of Seattle,**

 **Exact area unknown,**

 **Washington State,**

.

"It's me. Sailor,"

" _Sailor?_ "

"Yes, Little Woman," Jason echoed, running his knuckle over the rusting payphone box, Teddy stood outside by the bus stop, hidden from the sight of passing cars but still where Jason could keep an eye on him.

So far they'd walked the five miles he'd mapped out in his mind to this very point, where he knew there to be a payphone he could use to call Gail and say goodbye.

God this hurt.

Usually when he knew he wasn't going to be with Gail for a while he never got emotional but today, after all they'd been through this evening, it broke his heart to hear her and not be with her. Especially when Teddy was yet to apologise for creating this utter shit storm. He was devastated to not be with his wife when she needed him the most.

" _I hear you, Sailor."_

Thank god she remembered their code; she know that if he didn't greet her as lovingly as normal she had to speak only using their nicknames. It was the only way he could be sure their identities were safe over the phone. Not that he truly believed that the gang who Teddy had recorded making a shooting had the technology to hack the Greys Security system, but he still needed to be careful. Nothing was ever to be assumed in this business.

"Little Woman, I need you to do me a massive favour," Jason said now, watching Teddy running his hands through his hair much like his father did when he was stressed, "I need you to remember what I wrote on the fridge with our alphabet letters. Can you remember? Don't say it allowed. Just say yes if you do."

" _Sailor…I don't know. You write a lot of dirty things on our fridge,_ " Gail said, " _At the moment it says 'Gails Feet Mmmmm' with upside down W's for M's_."

"Not that fridge, Little Woman, try and think. I know it's hard to remember things right now but please. Please," Jason stressed, his heart breaking, "I need you to remember. And when you do remember, please go to Yogi-Bear or Frogman and the Eagle."

Frogman being Luke Sawyer, the SEAL.

The Eagle being Christian Grey; 'the eagle has landed'.

Yogi-Bear being Jonathan Ryans, the former Ranger.

" _Sailor, I can't remember_ ," Gail said and he could hear her getting upset, " _I can't-_ "

"Remember the fridge, Little Woman. Not the one in the kitchen right now," Jason said softly. He couldn't give her any more details for fear they would be compromised.

" _You mean at the_ _ **old house**_ _?_ " Gail asked then, putting emphasis on 'the old house;

Yes, the old house.

Perfect.

Jason could practically hear the light going on in her mind as she remembered the refrigerator in Escala and the random assortment of letters he'd always left on their refrigerator door. Even when Sophie had come to visit, she wasn't permitted to play with them, and if she did Jason was always sure to put them back in exactly the right spot.

The letters and numbers were a code, one which Grey would know in seconds. For security purposes, Jason could not allow certain safety plans to be documented in case of cyberattacks and hackers. He'd gone old school with certain aspects of security and left a breadcrumb trail which would lead Sawyer & Co to the safe place Jason intended to hide Teddy.

That first code was located on the fridge door in Escala and had been unchanging since he'd moved in six years before Grey had met Ana.

" _I understand, Sailor. I remember it now_ ," Gail said firmly.

"Tell the Eagle," Jason replied, "I love you, Little Woman."

" _I love you too, Sailor_ ," Gail sighed, _"Is something bad happening?"_

"Nothing I can't handle, Baby," Jason tried to sound as confident and as arrogant as always but the reality was his heart was breaking to hear his wife sounding so lost and confused without him there to explain, "I need you to tell The Eagle about the Doctors."

" _I don't want to be a burden,_ " Gail insisted, " _It will be fine_."

"Please, Little Woman," Jason groaned, feeling his voice beginning to crack, "Please put your health first. If you need to go in for surgery, tell someone and they can organise it safely for you."

" _I want to wait for you_ ," Gail choked, " _I'm scared."_

"I know, Baby," Jason said firmly, "But I might not be home for a few weeks and we can't wait for treatment." He looked up when he saw the bus arriving and Teddy's look of sudden panic, "Little Woman, I need to go. We're both safe and alive but we've chucked out mobile phones and bank card. I love you, forever and always. I'm yours."

" _Mine,_ " Gail repeated, " _Yogi-Bear is here. I'll go pass on the message, Keep safe, my Sailor_."

.

 **Christian Grey's office,**

 **Grey Mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle**

.

"Jason called," Gail said to both Ryan and Mr Grey, Ana finalising their packing, "He said they were safe but that he had a code to pass on to you both."

"A code?" Christian echoed curiously.

Ryan nodded firmly and smiled at Gail, "Jason has a lot of secret locations all around the State which he's never made a paper trail for. He's possibly given us a code to help us locate him and Teddy so we can communicate with him undetected…he's mentioned having safe places in the past for when there's a reason to take you and your family into hiding. I've no idea where they are, or how many he has lined up. Luke doesn't even know wither. What I do know is that he's going to have us going on a treasure hunt to find out where he is heading. Not bad for a Marine," Ryan laughed, "Considering they eat Crayons."

"Jason Taylor, you clever bastard," Christian whistled then looked at Gail too.

She opened her notepad and took a deep breath, having had to write down what she remembered Jason had written on the fridge after their conversation on the phone. She cleared her throat and looked at her loopy handwriting, "Fancy, 40 Falls, 1/2″ Wide."

It meant nothing to her, she had asked Jason about it one night in Escala and all he'd said was that it was an important message which he needed to always be written on their fridge. She'd done as asked and was sure not to disrupt the multi coloured magnetic alphabet.

"Fancy, 40 Falls, 1/2″ Wide," Ryan repeated, the super intelligent man completely at a loss for the meaning behind the code. Gail felt her anxieties increase; if Ryan didn't understand the code, how would they find Jason or Theodore?

Maybe Luke and Reynolds knew what it meant, she wondered, praying someone understood her husband's crazy genius.

"It'll take me some time to work that out. And access to the internet-" Ryan started but was interrupted when Christian Grey coughed.

"I know what that is," her boss said, looking at Ryan and then Gail and then at the note in her hands, "I'm not going to beat around the bush but that…that is a type of flogger. One I have in the Red Room."

"What?" Ryan choked.

"I've never noticed anything on it when I've used it," Christian mused, "No code that I've seen."

"What does it look like?" Ryan pressed, closing his eyes as he attempted to visualise the offending item. The man's photographic memory was something to be worshiped; Gail couldn't believe how near perfect Ryan's ability to recall the smallest detail was. She was sure the man knew exactly how many tiles she had in her bathroom, his attention and memory were so impressive.

"Well it's a flogger made from 20 strands of half inch wide suede," Christian said with a shrug, as though describing such a thing was nothing to him. To Gail, the idea of using a flogger in her sex life was appalling and unnecessary; Jason's footfetish was kinky enough in her mind. They'd a pair of handcuffs and a few other battery operated toys -didn't every modern American couple?- but a flogger? Oh no, Mr Grey.

"It's got 20 strands of half inch-wide oiled leather and it's balanced by a silver loop at the end of the pommel," Christian said, shrugging, "Do you remember seeing it?"

"No," Ryan admitted with a sigh, "But if its okay with you, Mr Grey, I would very much like to find it ASAP. I will get a message out to Reynolds to meet us there, and Luke if he's been discharged yet."

"Perfect," Christian nodded, no doubt eager to get in touch with his eldest child. Gail couldn't imagine how horrible it must feel to be unable to get in touch with him when he was in real danger.

"What's perfect?" Ana asked as she came through, carrying her smallest hand-luggage bag.

"We're going to the Red Room," Christian told Ana with a firm nod, "Jason's left a code on one of the floggers which will help us track down where he's taking Teddy…hopefully."

"…Jason Taylor tampered with one of your floggers?" Ana hissed, blushing crimson red, utterly horrified.

"Apparently so," Christian nodded.

"He's done it no doubt because it's in such an obvious place; right under our very noses," Ryan said, then blushed himself, "Not that I'm insinuating that you use that particular flogger under your nose, Ma'am. Using one on your face is very medieval. Unless you like that sort of thing. Not that I'm saying you do. I…I mean, ah shit, I'll get the Fiat going."

 **A/N; do let me know what you think so far! Not too sure where I'm going to go plot wise just yet, I've just got a few scenarios cooked up in my head!**

 **D x**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter six.**

 **.**

 **12 years ago…**

 **Taylor's Cottage,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle,**

 **.**

"Stephen! Teddy!" Gail called, watching as the two troublesome seven year olds ran through to the kitchen, both in their Action Man pyjamas. They were grinning, eyes dancing with mirth and mischief, no doubt tormenting poor Phoebe. The two boys were inseparable, 'best friends for life', a chaotic duo but funny.

Stephen went to the same Private school as Teddy, the blonde haired boy's father owning an international fishing fleet which brought in major bucks. They both swam together at the weekends and Teddy had recently asked Ana and Mr Grey to join a ballroom dancing club because Stephen did. The young man's parents were very proper and exceptionally British…which was why he clung to Teddy; Theodore Grey was a little tinker in comparison to the elegant sounding Stephen.

What a pair.

"Gail, do you fart?" Teddy asked and Stephen giggled loudly.

"Of course I do," Gail told them and then purse her lips to blow a raspberry.

That saw both boys brimming with delight and a choir of fart sounds proceeded.

She loved having Teddy and Phoebe for sleepovers when Mr and Mrs Grey were busy. They didn't leave their children often, and once they had taken Sophie for a sleepover so she and her husband could have a romantic dinner when they'd all gone up north to Aspen. It was no hardship to have the two, and it was definitely not a bother having Stephen either. Little Stephen didn't need reminded to put the toilet seat down and he'd offered to help Gail with dinner.

What he'd thought he could help do was a mystery to her, but she'd appreciated the gesture.

"What on earth is going on in here?" Jason asked, cradling a very sleepy and cranky Phoebe to his chest.

"Gail farts," Teddy declared, both boys giggling loudly still. Typical little boys; farts were the funniest thing possible, second to poop maybe.

Jason rose an eyebrow at Gail and all she could do was laugh at him and usher the boys through to the cottage sitting room with their milk and buttered toast.

"I think she's finally going down," Jason mumbled lowly, Phoebe having put up a strong fight to stay up past her bed time. The minute she'd settled in her beloved 'Tay's arms, however, she was a goner. It would appear Gail was going to have some serious competition for her husband's attention as Phoebe clung to the big bear.

"Mrs Taylor?" Stephen asked politely as Jason carried Phoebe up to the spare room, the boys getting Sophie's room tonight.

"Stephen!" Teddy giggled, "Her name's Gail. That's Taylor!" he added and pointed to Jason.

"Nu-uh! That's Mr Taylor and that's Mrs Taylor. Like your Daddy is Mr Grey and your mommy is Mrs Grey," Stephan said firmly, a very intelligent young lamb.

"Nu-uh!" Teddy argued back, his mother's stubbornness and his father's arrogance, "That's Taylor and that's Gail and my Daddy is daddy and my mommy is mommy. Not Mrs or Mr."

Oh Teddy…

Gail shook her head and smiled at Stephen who chose not to correct Teddy and instead focus his energy on his toast.

"You can call me Gail, Stephen," Gail promised, sitting down on her armchair, "What's wrong?"

"Can I use your lavatory, please?" Stephen asked sweetly.

"Are you gonna poop?" Teddy asked and burst out laughing, Stephen laughing too before clutching his privates suddenly.

"No I need to weewee," Stephen said with urgency.

"'weewee', 'lavatory'," Teddy mimicked, laughing with his mouth full of toast, "Boy you speak funny sometimes."

"Of course you can, Stephen," Gail smiled as she stood up and took his hand, walking him to the downstairs bathroom before she had to clean up a third accident; Phoebe was potty training and refusing to use the big girl potty for anyone but her father or for her 'Tay'.

When Gail came back, she ruffled Teddy's spiky hair, "Hey, handsome."

"Hey Gail," Teddy grinned back, "Stephen's funny, huh?"

"He is lovely, Teddy," Gail promised, "He's your bestfriend?"

"My bestest ever friend," Teddy declared, "Don't tell Ryan or Sawyer. I don't want them upset that I love Stephen more," he added quickly.

"I promise I wont," Gail smiled, then checked the time, "Right you, your mother wants you to call her before you go to bed."

Teddy nodded and took Gail's mobile phone, holding it to his ear and munching away on the last of his supper, "Hey mommy! I'm just about to sleep. Stephen is 'in the lavatory,'," Teddy added, mimicking his friend's strong, regal British accent, "Yes I'm behaving mommy. Yes I'm keeping Phoebe out of trouble. But she peed on the floor and she was in time out twice for hitting me." He tattled, "So don't bring her home anything nice."

Oh Teddy…

Gail shook her head at the young Mr Grey sitting before her. He was such a good boy. Maybe not academic, but he was good and honest and he loved his family dearly. What more could anyone want in a son? He'd the best family too; a mother and father who adored him, a baby sister who worshipped him, four surrogate uncles who'd give their lives up for his safety.

"Night night mom, I love you," Teddy declared, hanging up the phone and handing it over to Gail just as Stephen came back out, "Have fun in the lavatory?" Teddy teased him.

Stephen looked at him then before blowing a large raspberry, catching the little Grey off guard. He recuperated the fart sound, both boys laughing so loudly that Jason had to tell them off.

Spoil sport, Gail tutted, Jason reminding them that Phoebe was sleeping and that it was late.

"Go brush your teeth," Jason ordered, both boys hurrying past him to the bathroom to do as commanded. Jason looked at Gail then, frowning at her expression, "What?"

"You're no fun," Gail quipped, "They're just boys being boys."

"Making fart noises at nine at night is 'boys being boys'?" Jason mumbled, not in a good mood at all for some reason. He wasn't known for his charming personality but even still, Gail hoped he'd at least have joined in with the earlier bath time hilarity when the boys were playing with their Navy ships, "When I was their age I was praying to God beside my bed."

Gail rolled her eyes at him, stuck out her tongue and made the offending noise at him.

.

.

 **Present Day,**

 **On a bus,**

 **Twenty miles west of Seattle,**

 **Washington State.**

 **.**

"How's your arm?" Teddy asked, looking at him with a curious expression. He looked uncomfortable sat on the bus and Jason realised with a shocking clarity that Theodore Grey had never ridden on a public bus before in his life.

Fucking hell.

The thought was scary and Jason almost felt guilty for him; when Jason himself had been a mere boy he'd adored riding on the bus with his papa and mama. Didn't all young boys go through that car phase?

"Fine. A little sore," Jason admitted and looked at the hole in his arm. He'd had to take the spare coat from the back of Luke's car before Reynolds had driven off in it, just so that he could cover up the blood which had soaked his left side from the wound.

"Only a little?" Teddy repeated and then frowned, "Jesus, Taylor, you got shot."

"Shhhh, Teddy. And yes. I am aware," Jason mumbled, looking around the carriage at the late night stragglers who were dotted around the other seats, "You owe me a new suit," he added, "Exactly the same as the one that's ruined."

"It's just a suit," Teddy mumbled ignorantly.

"Not to me. To me that's one of my favourites. One of Mrs Taylor's favourites. It's my lucky suit. Although I'm rethinking that caption," Jason shrugged as he thought about how shitty his day had been. From Gail's lab results to Christian not letting him off the rest of the night, to witnessing a mob hit. Yup, this was not a good day for him.

"Why's it lucky?" Teddy asked after a few moments silence, apparently not sensing from Jason's face that he really wasn't interested in talking to this dick head. Nope, not in the slightest. Teddy could keel over and die right now and Jason doubted he'd be beaten up over it because it meant he would feel so much less like a failure of a husband to Gail in her hour of need.

"It just is."

"You get laid with it on?" Teddy pressed. Typical teenage boy; assuming that luck was merely getting laid. The kid had no concept of luck. Luck to Jason was a bullet missing his skull by a millimetre in a firefight in a stretch of desert with no cover. Luck to Jason was not losing his limbs when the man in front of him stood on a landmine and blew up in front of his very eyes. Luck to Jason was when his abusive ex-wife let him be for the night and allowed him a moment's breather between the psychological and physical abuse she loved inflicting upon him. Luck to Jason was being sent away to military school in California because it meant he could escape his grandfather's fist.

Luck to Jason was not getting sex. Not anymore. Although, he had gotten laid in this suit multiple times. Including four hours ago on his way back to the mansion. Jason was sure Teddy had seen him and Gail fucking in the Jaguar whilst he'd been out having a smoke. Yet another reason why Jason detested Teddy.

"Yes I did," Jason replied to his sex question and could see that admission shut Teddy up. "It's also the first suit I bought to work with your dad," Jason added, "It's the suit I wore when I asked Gail on a date. It was the suit I wore on our date. It was the suit she ripped off me that night. It was the suit I wore when Sophie found out she no longer had leukaemia. It was the suit I wore when she did her driving test and passed; first time. It's an important suit to me. I need it fixed and you're paying the bill."

"Fine," Teddy huffed. He didn't like Jason any more than Jason liked him; that much was obvious. When had their relation become so resentful? Jason had a rough idea but in all honesty he didn't care to make up with him now. The young man was reckless and dangerous and would soon land himself in so much trouble that Jason was certain he'd be fired for failing to protect him.

"So why were you wearing it today?"

Damnit, he still wanted to gossip.

"None of your business," Jason quipped. There was no way he was telling Teddy about Gail's hospital appointment or the fact that his lucky suit had failed him at long last.

"Hoping for a blow job on your lunch break?" Teddy pressed, sensing Jason's discomfort and prodding him to make him snap. Childish. The boy was childish. And an idiot.

"Nah. I was hoping your mom would let me give her a rim job," Taylor snapped because fuck this shit. He was so done with the Greys and prepared to walk away. Why not hurt this little brat beforehand? He was a serious mommy's boy anyway, even if he did act out and defy her. He screamed mommy issues.

"Fuck you," Teddy snapped, "That's my mom."

"Don't care," Jason smirked, "She's hot. I would."

"Gail not keeping you?" Teddy attempted to flip it on Jason but the older man was prepared for that. Years of Sawyer's shit had made Taylor an expert at comebacks.

"Oh no. She keeps me fine. But your dad's not keeping your mom. I've seen the way she looks at me. At Sawyer. At Ryan. She is absolutely gagging for it-ARGH!" Jason snapped as Teddy punched him in the bullet would, causing it to start bleeding again, "Fuck you!"

"Fuck you!" Teddy shouted back, "When's the next stop. I'm done with this. I'd rather take the mobsters than sit with you another minute, you prick."

"You know what?" Jason huffed and pressed the 'stop' button in front of them both, "I'd rather hand you over so I can go home to my wife."

"Fine," Teddy growled as the bus pulled over in the middle of goddamn nowhere. They were still miles away from where they wanted to be; twenty miles from Seattle. Teddy would never survive marching back to his home; he was too goddamn hopeless.

"Sit your ass back down," Jason snapped, unable to let the young Christian Grey leave. Like him or hate him, Jason owed the Greys too much to let Teddy leave him now, "We've got three more stops then we're where we need to be tonight."

"Where are we going?" Teddy demanded, a disgruntled bus driver glaring at them both before driving on.

"To get a car," Jason said honestly, "We've got a long way to go. I have a car in a storage unit out here that we can take."

"Why are you so goddamn secretive?" Teddy snapped, "All these secret places. What the honest fuck?"

"I've got safe places for every occasion; fake passports, fake ID," Jason whispered lowly, "Money in boxes across the country. Weapons. We all do," he shrugged.

"This is utter bullshit," Teddy scoffed but settled back down and focused on counting down the remaining stops.

"It sure is," Jason nodded.

And for the first time in what felt like a decade, Jason and Teddy agreed on something.

.

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **The Red Room,**

 **Escala,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington,**

.

A Navy SEAL, a US Army Ranger, a Billionaire business Tycoon and a former CIA operative walk into a Sex Dungeon, and the billionaire says 'So you guys all signed the NDA, right?'

Luke felt like utter shit as he stood in Christian Grey's playroom, trying to pretend that the sickness he was feeling was because of the ipecac and not the fact that he was sitting on a plastic covered four-poster bed which Grey's bare ass and bollocks had no doubt been all over.

Welch had sourced several incredibly competent men to watch over the other Greys which allowed the rest of them the opportunity to meet and get organised. Why the hell they needed to meet in the Red Room was beyond Luke but Ryan had prattled on about some sort of secret code and a flogger and…god Luke's stomach hurt thinking about it.

"Do you need a glass of water?" Grey asked him, no doubt seeing Luke burp.

"No sir. My stomach's had enough for today," Luke nodded, watching as Reynolds and Ryan studied a map on what Luke hoped was a desk but suspected it was a rack of some sort.

"Danni and the girls are safe," Ryan nodded, "Nora is staying longer in Tokyo at her Card Convention."

"You're such a nerdy couple," Sawyer smirked, but then nodded, "What about Craig and Mei?"

"They're on their way to Craig's Grandmother in the West Indies," Reynolds nodded, scratching his bald head and looking at Grey now, "I've reported the crime to the police and they're desperate to have Teddy put into a witness protection program. He's witnessed and has a recording of Stefano Esposito Jr. murdering a man for owed money. I've got a copy of the video and have given a third copy to Welch however, and I must stress this, that Teddy and Jason are in more trouble now that the police know about what's happened. The system is corrupt. I'll bet my left nut that the mob have a mole or two in the station. Or even cops making money on the side for destroying incriminating evidence on their behalf to keep them from trouble."

"That's disgusting," Grey growled.

Luke, Ryan and Reynolds all shared a look; didn't Grey realise that they'd done that for him in the past before?

"It's an occupational hazard. One which Jason's obviously anticipated by taking Teddy into hiding himself, out with a program, until the authorities can fight through the corruption and get a court case together for taking Slick and his cronies down," Reynold sighed, tired from the long day.

"So Jason's taken Teddy somewhere, waiting to get in touch with us to find out what's going on…but we've no idea where he's going, right?" Luke asked, needing caught up after getting out of the hospital.

"He's left us a code," Ryan added, opening a little piece of paper from the back of his pocket, "Fancy, 40 Falls, ½ inches Wide."

Christian walked straight over to a wrack where the offending floggers hung. From Luke's position, some of the floggers reminded him of the cat toys their pet cat, Davito, used to play with before he'd run away.

"This one here," Christian said, pointing at it instead of picking it up, letting Ryan lift it from the wrack instead whilst wearing a latex glove.

"So what are we looking for?" Luke asked, Christian sitting beside him whilst Reynolds and Ryan examined each individual strand of leather coming from the flogger.

"A message from Jason," Ryan mumbled, Reynolds going back to the wrack to explore the site where the item was removed from.

"So-"

"Sawyer, we don't know," Reynolds snapped, glaring at him to silence his questions, "We really don't know. So kindly shut up."

Ooooookay then.

Luke stared at Grey who was itching to say something but afraid to do so himself now; Reynolds never told anyone to shut up. They both sat twiddling their thumbs as Ryan and Reynolds meticulously searched for this clue. If there even was one.

"One of the strands has numbers written on it," Ryan mumbled, and Grey stood up quickly, "Mr Grey? Can you just reassure me that this doesn't belong on the flogger?"

Luke got up and stared down at the weapon – _because that's what the fucking thing was!_ \- and spotted the smallest letters possible;

' _Tile 25'_

What the fuck?

"So…is that the twenty-fifth tile to…where?" Reynolds huffed, "Fucking Marine. He could have made this easier."

"How many tiles are in Escala?" Christian asked.

"That's if it's even Escala," Ryan muttered, "It could be GEH for all we know."

"I don't believe this," Christian snapped furiously, "The only way I can get in touch with my son is following this god awful treasure map and none of you have any idea how to solve that goddamn clue. I don't think any of you understand how vital it is for us to get in touch with my son; this is the heir to a billion dollar company. Do you know how much of a damn target he is without this-"

"Guys, the roof is tile," Luke called, interrupting Grey and looking at the ceiling, "Under that…what even is that?"

"A suspension grid," Christian said, looking at the roof too, "It moves. We can move it out of the way. How many tiles are there up there?"

"Twenty five," Ryan declared, "Lets move this. Luke, can you check on the girls and grab the ladder from the closet?"

"Sure," Luke nodded, hurrying through the house where Ana, Phoebe and Gail were sat, dozing on the sofas. He silently went to the utilities closet and grabbed the stool and the ladder, bringing it back to the Red Room.

Grey wasted no time demonstrating how everything worked, moving the heavy duty equipment aside with Reynolds help. It was odd, Luke thought, as he studied some of the equipment. He loved sex and would take it any which way he could get it from his wife but he'd never chose to bring suspension into their funky times. It just seemed like too much effort when he was horny. Grey must get a serious kick out of the anticipation, Luke reckoned before his eyes befell another weapon of torture.

"Wow, what is that?" Luke blurted out, pointing at a black wooden stock. It was so medieval and creepy, really making things feel like a dungeon.

"It's a Stock," Grey informed him, apparently beyond the point of embarrassment at having three hairy assed men in his sex room, "A person puts their feet in the bottom and their hands and neck in the top."

"Don't let Jason see that," Luke laughed, setting the ladder under the point Ryan was pointing at.

"Why?" Grey asked, turning the torch on his phone and handing it to Reynolds who climbed up the steps towards the roof.

"Bastard has a serious footfetish," Luke smirked, "He pretends he doesn't but we've caught him in the act," he said then shut up as Reynolds tapped his knuckle against the offending tile.

It was hallow compared to the other two on either side.

Holy shit.

Reynolds carefully lifted the tile inwards, taking Grey's torch and poking his head through the hole and into the rafters of the room where the electrics were located.

"I've got something," Reynolds called, coughing on the dust, "The bastard's put a poster up in here. I'm bringing it down," he choked again, slipping his tiny frame further into the abyss before crawling back out and down the ladder.

He was covered in dust and cobwebs but he was clutching a poster for sure. Or rather, as Luke studied it closer, it was apparent that it was another clue to Jason's intended location for Teddy. The poster was a beautiful picture of rugged and dramatic mountains, beautiful sapphire blue water and vibrant green trees.

British Columbia.

"He's taking Teddy to Canada," Luke pointed out, "That's the Kluane national park, Yukon. I've been there Mountain Biking."

"You're sure?" Reynolds asked curiously, dusting himself down.

"He's right," Ryan nodded, "I remember Jason talking about it once when we were talking about dinner. He's gone there a few times with his brother, Trevor. I think Trevor might even have property there. You know, like how Mr Grey has Aspen? I'm sure Trevor's wife is from Canada originally."

"So Jason is taking my son to Canada," Christian echoed, running his hand through his hair, "Fucking perfect. He's going to get lost or eaten by a bear. I bet GEH on it. How long has that goddamn poster been up there?!"

"I'm not sure, sir. Possibly when he found out Trevor bought it? Jaosn is so organised that I really can't answer that question. At least we have a starting point," Reynolds nodded, "I'm disappointed he's not left an address but the fact Ryan remembers Jason's brother may have property out there…that's a massive bonus. We'll track them down but we've got to do it discretely. After that police report was filed, our names and identities will flag up. What we've got on public record is exceptionally minimum but still we need to be aware."

.

 **A/N; do let me know what you think so far; I love hearing both the bad and the good :) What's everyone's thoughts on Gail being ill? Will Taylor manage to keep away? Why is there a rift between Teddy and his family? Will everyone manage to keep safe and secret? All I know at the moment is there will probably be a bloodbath at some point. Here's hoping Taylor doesn't end up in hospital for another story; but they do come in threes...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter seven**

.

 **11 years ago…**

 **In the back garden,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle,**

.

Ana held Teddy's podgy hand, grinning down at her gorgeous little boy as they walked into the garden together with their bag of new books. The Literature lover in her adored books. As much as she loved the Kindle Christian had bought her, Ana still was insistent in buying books because otherwise she couldn't smell that new book smell which excited her and got her imagination going.

It was tough getting Teddy to read; even at a young age both she and Christian knew their son wasn't ever going to be the academic sort, much to Carrick's distress; he was determined to have his grandkids attend Ivy League colleges. And as great as that would be, Ana knew Teddy was never going to be the word-loving type.

He was bottom of his classes for reading and writing and average for mathematics. PE, music and art were his strong points but words were just not an interest of his and he often made up his own piano songs instead of learning ones everyone knew because it involved reading. He had glasses now but that didn't seem to motivate him much either.

Taking him to a library was normally a complete waste of time because he was just not interested in reading any books; no pirates, no dinosaurs, no adventure books, no animal books, no vampires, zombies, ghosts. Instead Teddy liked the encyclopaedia because it had pictures of animals which he loved to copy and draw.

Today, however, Ana had been shocked when he'd picked up a superhero graphic novel with vivid pictures and little bit of writing. Maybe she and Christian were going the wrong way with getting him fun adventure books; maybe all along he wanted to read comics with storylines and drawings intertwined? He was certainly eager to sit with Ana in the garden and read with his mommy for the first time in a long time.

"Just here?" she asked her eight year old, smiling at how happy he was today.

"Yeah mommy," Teddy nodded, "Maybe later I can draw the superhero for Luke and one for Stephen's birthday!"

"Stephen will love that," Ana smiled, glad that Teddy had really taken to sensible young British boy, "And so will Luke. Great idea."

"I know," Teddy smiled, sitting down with her on the grass before scooting over closer and leaning on her thigh, "Mommy, will you help me read?"

"Of course, baby," Ana promised, kissing his forehead. It was rare they got time without Phoebe but Christian had taken her with him to the office to show off his daughter. If someone had told Ana a decade ago that Christian would be 'that dad' who took their children into work, she would have laughed. It was hilarious and adorable.

"We'll sound out the words together," Ana smiled, reading with her baby boy before he eventually got bored and wanted to draw. He was happiest when he was drawing so Ana didn't push him to read more, enjoying the one on one time with her baby boy; her number one man. Christian had always been her number one until Teddy's little hand had touched hers for the first time. Since then, Ana put her babies before everyone else, just like her husband did.

"Mommy, can we get a tree house?" Teddy asked curiously, catching her off guard as she followed his sight to the tree between their garden and the Taylors, "For the tree over there?"

"Baby, I don't want you climbing that tree. It's dangerous and old," Ana said firmly, "It'll break under the slightest weight."

"Oh," Teddy sighed, pouting. He looked so much like his father when he did so; utterly gorgeous, "Can I still have a tree house?"

"Maybe when you're a little bigger," Ana promised, "Why don't we design one? We can draw up plans and show daddy and see what he thinks?"

"Yes!" Teddy grinned big, grabbing a new piece of paper and handing it to Ana, "You too. Oh oh oh. Can I have a bedroom in there for Ryan?"

"Why Ryan?" Ana laughed as she began drawing with her son. She didn't want him climbing these trees but she'd suggest getting him a Wendy House for in the garden, something boyish.

"Cause Ryan is my CPO and i gotta have him close. Like Taylor and Daddy or you and Luke," Teddy explained, "But Ryan needs a big room because he's tall."

"I think Ryan could stay with the Taylors," Ana chuckled, glad Teddy liked his CPO so much. They really were a good match, Ryan friendly and very kind. Reynolds would never have worked for him, and Christian wouldn't forgo Taylor and Ana most certainly wouldn't part with Sawyer.

"Fine but he still needs to be able to visit. And a Bedroom for Stephen because he's my bestfriend and needs to be able to stay over sometimes when we go out drinking and having man nights outs," Teddy explained, both looking up when Luke Sawyer suddenly appeared, as white as a ghost.

"Are you okay?" Ana asked, focusing Teddy's attention on her house picture.

"Danni's gone into Labour," Luke finally managed to spit out, shaking a little. Danni and he had lost their first baby to a miscarriage in their final month of pregnancy, so it was more than understandable that Luke was shitting himself.

"Okay," Ana said firmly, knowing the woman was supposed to be due two days from now, "Right. You're not driving yourself to the hospital. You're shaking too much. Go and grab Ryan from the office. Reynolds will be here for us and Jason will be home soon too. Go."

"Okay, ma'am," Luke stammered, running a shaking hand through his fluffy black hair. He didn't move however, frozen in fear it seemed.

"Oh Luke," Ana sighed and stood up, embracing Luke hard since he was just so frightened suddenly,

"You'll be a great dad. But first get your butt to the hospital," she chided, rubbing the man's chest softly to try and calm him down. She'd often seen Jason do it to Luke and it seemed to work for them.

"Okay," Luke finally said after a deep breath, "Okay. I'll grab Ryan. I'll be in touch, ma'am?"

"Yes. Go." Ana said firmly.

"Good luck Luke!" Teddy cheered, waving as the big bodyguard ran towards the Taylors Cottage.

"Thanks, Tedster!" Luke yelled back, disappearing into the security room to grab Ryan.

.

.

 **Present Day,**

 **The living room,**

 **Escala,**

 **Seattle,**

"So what's going on?" Ana frowned when her husband finally came out of the Red Room with Ryan, Reynolds and Luke. Gail came over with coffees and tea but Ana just couldn't stomach it. She was so scared for her son and agitated that she had no idea what was even going on.

"Teddy is with Jason," Christian told her, "They're heading for the Yukon."

"My baby is going to the Canadian Wilderness?!" Ana screeched.

"Mom," Phoebe huffed but shut herself right up when Ana glared in her direction.

"Christian, I want Teddy and Jason in police custody. I want them safe where we can speak to them!" Ana demanded, "He's our son!"

"Ma'am," Reynolds attempted to interject, "We can't be sure that Teddy will be safe if brought into custody. For the right price, a corrupt detective might rat out his location. He's as safe as possible with Jason."

Ana was so angry, feeling ganged up on as everyone, even Gail Taylor, nodded in agreement. Didn't they understand that Teddy was barely an adult?

How would he survive in the outside world?

What if Jason died?

What if they fell down a mountain?

What if they ate poisonous berries?

What if they drowned?

What if they were traced by the mob?

What if they were attacked by bears?!

What if-

"Stop what if-ing," Christian commented, reading her mind which did nothing to reign in her temper. She couldn't believe how okay her husband was being about Jason taking Teddy to Canada. She couldn't believe how okay he was being over their baby boy witnessing a mob hit.

Teddy had been troubled since The Accident. It had been hard to control him, harder to punish him for acting out because both she and Christian understood completely why he was so troubled and distressed. He loved them all, Ana was sure of that, but he resented Jason Taylor and the guards. God did he hate Taylor after what happened. She remembered one occasion where he'd described Ryan as 'his retarded rent-a-cop' to his friends…whilst Ryan was stood beside him. Ana only knew he'd said it when she'd found Ryan upset and talking to Gail outside. The man had autism, Teddy knew that and had deliberately belittled in in the most personal way possible.

That was when Ana realised they were really in trouble with Teddy; he'd adored Ryan growing up. But after the Accident, everyone was as bad as the other, everyone was a failure to him. Heck, Ana was sure Teddy blamed Taylor whole heartedly for what had happened back when he was a youngster, at that critical age between boyhood and manhood which had sent him spiralling off onto a bad path.

No matter how many psychologists they'd paid for, how many experts and support workers, Teddy just wouldn't listen. He wasn't interested. The world had wronged him, in his mind, and he was angry because of it.

"He doesn't even like Taylor, Christian," Ana groaned, tears in her eyes, "How do you know he'll stick with him? He doesn't even stick with Luke!"

"Because Teddy's not stupid; surely by now he's learnt his lesson," Christian mumbled, scratching his jaw, "He'll know he's in trouble and Jason's the only man who can help."

"I wish I had your optimism," Ana sighed, wiping her tears and looking at Gail now, "No offence about Teddy not liking Taylor."

"None taken, Mrs Grey," Gail nodded, "The feeling is very much mutual, however," she sighed and then tried to joke, "I don't know which one will feed the other to a bear first."

"Hopefully there wont be any bears," Ryan laughed now, giving them that adorable smile of his, "There's only three types and even then, Jason's scarier that a grizzly and a black bear put together."

"What's the third type?" Christian dared ask the brainbox.

"Oh, a Polar Bear. I don't think they'd win in a fight with a polar bear to be honest so hopefully Jason's not taking them both that far North," Ryan said, and Ana felt her stomach cramp and nausea overcome her.

Grizzly bear.

Black bear.

Polar bear.

"Or wolves. Lynx, Cougars, wolverines-"

"Ryan stop it," Gail glared at the youngest guard, "As someone who's spoken to Trevor Taylor's wife, a Canadian from Dawson City," she said then stared at Ana, "she's assured me that animals only attack if surprised and cornered, as they would in any country, in any situation, and mortal attacks are exceptionally rare. Our boys will be fine as long as they stick together. Jason is a Marine for godsake. He has survival training. Teddy is in good hands."

"God I hope so," Ana choked then looked at Reynolds, "So what do we do?"

"It'll be wise to put all of you in hiding," Reynolds said firmly, "If they didn't know it was Teddy Grey who saw the shooting at the time, they'll know now since Welch and I visited the station and reported the crime on Teddy's behalf and gave them a copy of the video."

"They'll possibly make attempts on you and your family if they want to scare Teddy into the open," Luke said and smiled at Ana, "We wont let that happen though; Welch has already given us seven more agency guys who are with your parents and siblings."

Sawyer's smile always reassured her. It was honest, like Ryan's. Jason had a habit of keeping things from Ana, under Christian's instruction, but Sawyer was never afraid to lay it all out for her under the promise that she 'act surprised when Mr Grey' told her. In return, Ana made sure to never have Luke's drug test scheduled straight after his holidays and always gave him a heads up; on holiday he's a habit of getting high and vegging out in his shorts and although pot was legal…her husband was exceptionally anti-drugs.

Ana nodded at Luke, then stood from the sofa, "Okay," she sighed and walked over to the kitchen, "Okay, right. Lets go then. I want to get Phoebe somewhere safe."

"Good," Luke said and stood, straightening out his jeans.

Christian stood up too, brushing down his suit pants and straightening his shirt. Ana stared at her husband then, taking in his face. Although he'd aged, he was still a wonderfully put together man. The six pack was still there, under his shirt, but it wasn't as defined unless he clenched because with two adult children he truly had no time to himself to work out between family and GEH and now politics.

His hair was still as thick and perfect as it had been when Ana had first scene it only now he'd silver flecks on his hairline which matched the silver in his stubble.

Yes, he was older, but he was still incredibly handsome and alllll hers. Teddy was lucky to inherit his father's good looks, that was for sure.

She smiled when Christian's eyes locked onto hers, those infamous grey orbs sparkling with hope and reassurance. He was worried for their son, she could see it now, but he had every faith in Taylor's abilities to keep them both alive.

"It'll be fine," Christian said, giving her a wink.

Ana nodded and then gasped when a red light suddenly appeared on the side of Christian's head.

A red dot.

Sniper!

Time went completely still.

"Christian!" Ana shouted, the three CPOs, turning on their heels and staring in horror.

"Get down!" Reynolds shouted, lunging for Ana and tackling her with his slender body. With a thud, Ana fell behind the kitchen counter, no longer able to see her husband. Before she could get up, she was pinned down by Reynolds who restrained her.

"Christian!" Ana shouted louder then screamed when she heard the glass of the window shatter and a male grunt.

"Oh my god!" Gail shouted from over by the sofas, Ana unable to move, unable to see what was going on.

Someone was gurgling on something, as though choking on water or…blood. Someone was hit, Ana just knew with a sinking feeling in her stomach, and whoever it was was in a critical state.

"Help!" Phoebe screamed, panicking too, "Oh my god!"

"Phoebe!" Ana yelled over, trying to comfort the hysterical sixteen year old, "Reynolds, get off me!"

"Who's hit?" Reynolds shouted over, ignoring Ana's demand, "What's going on!?"

"He's bleeding!" Phoebe cried, "He's bleeding everywhere!"

"Apply pressure to the wound!" Luke ordered, "Grey! Get your ass over here and press this down on the hole or he'll bleed out!"

 _Grey! Get your ass over here…_

Wait.

Christian was alive?!

Ana wanted to weep in relief; her husband wasn't the one choking on his own blood.

But that meant-

"Ryan!" Gail screamed, Reynolds finally getting off of Ana and running to hit the electric blinds to give them cover before going to grab the kitchen phone.

"We need an ambulance and police," Reynolds demanded as Ana was able to scramble out from behind the counter on all fours and take in the damage for the first time.

Ryan was lying on the floor, Christian pressing down on his throat with a red and bloodied sofa throw. Phoebe was lying under Gail, their house keeper having grabbed Ana's daughter and sheltered her with her own body.

"The shooter was from the opposite building," Luke yelled to Reynolds, cocking his gun, "Get Welch on the line; I'm going over. Do not let the cops take Grey. That is an order!"

"Aye sir!" Reynolds shouted over as Luke ran out of the apartment to try and get to the shooter. She imagined he wouldn't wait for the elevator; it would go too slowly for the former Navy SEAL who was so in the zone that he didn't even give Ryan a second look as Ana's husband desperately pressed down on the man's throat.

"Ryan," Christian begged, "Keep breathing. Keep breathing."

"Ambulance will be here in five minutes," Reynolds said, running over to Ryan now, "Keep breathing, Jonathan. Keep fucking breathing or Jason's going to kill me for letting you get shot; you fucking teacher's pet," Reynolds snapped, taking over from Christian and exploring the wound when he realised that Ryan was seriously struggling to breathe.

"He's wheezing," Christian muttered, covered in Ryan's blood.

"Ana get me a knife," Reynolds demanded, "Quickly! Run it under the boiling tap and bring it over here now! It's going to be okay, Ryan."

Ana was frozen, staring at her bloodied husband in utter fright.

"Ana! Now!" Christian ordered, making Ana jump.

Phoebe ran past her, rummaging in the drawers and grabbing a knife, Ana watching as she ran it under the tap before bringing it back to Reynolds, "Will this do?"

"Perfect, Phoebe. I need you to uncap this pen," Reynolds nodded, pulling a pen from his pocket and looking at Christian next, "Keep pressure on the wound. I'm going to do a tracheotomy."

"A what?!" Gail gasped, Ana finally shaking off her startle and shock and running over to hold Gail. Ryan was like her baby, she mothered him most out of all the guards; he was her little orphan Ranger and to him she was the mother he'd always longed for.

"Hold him still," Reynolds ordered, lifting the knife up and against Ryan's neck.

Ana gagged and looked away, holding Gail who kept staring in utter horror.

This had almost been her husband; the notion made Ana utterly sick with fear.

"It's on," Reynolds shouted in triumph, Ana opening her eye to see Phoebe was holding Ryan down whilst Reynolds secured the empty pen tube, Christian holding the original wound, "He's breathing better."

"Oh thank god," Gail choked, "He's A Positive," she said, and Ana realised she was talking about blood type. But of course she was; Ryan had saturated the floor with his blood.

"Gail what happened?" Ana stammered, jumping when she heard the elevator moving meaning the EMT were no doubt on their way.

"Oh Ana, he just covered Christian and no more," Gail cried, "He save his life. Someone tried to kill Christian but Ryan leapt in front of him and Luke covered me and Phoebe. I can't believe how fast it happened."

.

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **Big Joe's Storage Units,**

 **An hour south-east of Seattle,**

 **Washington State,**

.

"What the hell is that?" Teddy huffed when Taylor opened a large shipping container, and he saw the sky blue monstrosity inside.

Teddy had never seen such an ugly car in his life and it didn't even have leather seats! What sorta old shit was this?

Taylor obviously thought they were going to drive in it. The big marine somehow managed to shimmy to the back of the container and push the car out after somehow managing to take off the parking break…which wasn't a button like the cars he was used to.

God this thing must have been around when the dinosaurs were alive, Teddy thought, noticing a little rust around it from no doubt rotting in the container.

It was disgusting.

Who honestly bought these things?

Who honestly went to a car dealership and pointed at this big ugly blue pile of crap and said 'yes, that'll do.'

"That's my car before I worked for your family," Taylor informed him, wiping some dust from his nose. His arm was clearly bothering him so Teddy realised he probably should have helped push the car out, but he was still angry at Taylor for the 'give your mom a rimjob' joke earlier.

Ginger prick.

"Drives like a dream still."

"Sure it does," Teddy mumbled, shaking his head, "What even is it?"

"A 2004 Chevy Aveo LT," Taylor smiled, actually proud of this piece of shit, "Don't get me wrong, I love my Jag but this thing holds so many memories for me."

"Memories of low-income bouncer work, final warning notices and second day Chinese food," Teddy muttered under his breath.

"Can you stop biting my balls for one second and help me get the motor going?" Taylor snapped and threw a power pack at Teddy, "Go find a plug and we'll jump start this thing and be on our way."

"Fine," Teddy huffed, walking over to the first mains supply he could find and plugging in the powerbox. He brought the two wires back and gave them to Jason who wasted no time attaching them to the engine and turning the key.

The thing groaned into life but boy it sounded unhealthy.

Jason seemed happy but Teddy wasn't convinced the bastardly car would make it out the lot let alone to wherever the fuck they were going. But Teddy was surprised to find the car immaculate inside and it was relatively comfortable to sit in as Jason drove them out of the storage unit allotment and towards the road. Before setting off, Teddy had watched the man fit on new license plates which he pulled from the very back of his unit so Teddy assumed he was aware that they could be traced by the car.

"Not bad, huh?" Taylor asked, looking like a fucking giant in the driving side, "You ever learn how to drive a stick?"

"No because I'm not a caveman. The world runs on automatics," Teddy scoffed.

"Not always," Taylor mumbled, "I like driving stick sometimes," he admitted.

"The only thing a gear stick is good for is watching porn videos where the woman fucks herself with it," Teddy growled, not wanting to talk anymore and so hoping to shock the marine into silence.

To the younger man's amusement, Taylor just laughed, "I've seen that video."

"Disgusting," Teddy mumbled then winced when he felt his stomach growl, "Wake me when we get wherever we're going," he huffed, turning over in his seat and closing his eyes. The flash of streetlights in the dark were making him queasy anyway so it was better for him to sleep before he upchucked and further ruined the former Marine's car.

Just as he was about to drift off, Taylor pressed the stereo on and cheered to himself as some horrible dated rock band began playing, "I forgot that CD was in there. Perfect."

Yup, Teddy grumbled; _Perfect._

Jason said nothing as he drove himself and Teddy further south and towards Portland, intending to cross as many boarders as possible before reaching their final resting place; Trevor Taylor's wife, Maggie's father's hunting lodge in the Yukon. The more places they went, the less likely they would be to have a tail which, although Jason was sure they were not being followed or known to have this car, he wasn't taking chances with Teddy's life.

The teen was silent and still, not sleeping any more but rather just staring out the window as they approached the outskirts of Portland city. Usually, Jason would be incline to ask if he were okay.  
But there was little to no chance of him doing that right now; right now, Jason would rather ask Teddy to jump out the moving car.

They passed through Portland easily with minimum traffic, the Aveo driving beautifully in Jason's honest opinion considering how many decades it had laid in that particular storage unit waiting for a moment such as this. They were about twelve miles out of the city and heading back North to Washington State when Teddy finally piped up.

"Stop. I need the toilet," Teddy said, an order very much in his tone.

 _No thank you._

 _No sorry._

 _Not happening yet._

Jason grumbled and shook his head, "Hold it. We can't stop yet until we're over the boarder."

"Bullshit we can't. I'm going to piss myself," Teddy grumbled and glared at Jason then, making eye contact with him for the first time since they got into the goddamn car.

"No you're not. You're a man. Hold it," Jason growled but then sped forward a little more for him.

"Jason I'm being serious; I have to pee," Teddy mumbled as he shifted in his seat now.

"We're no way near far enough in my schedule to stop," Jason insisted, "I don't need to piss and I'm 'ancient' according to you."

"Jason. This isn't funny. Can you please stop somewhere?" Teddy said now and that was all it took.

 _Please._

 _Can you please stop somewhere?_

 ** _Please_** _._

It felt like the first time in his life that Jason had heard Teddy ever use the magic word, particularly to him directly.

"There's a service station up ahead. Can you wait?" Jason asked, looking at the young man.

"I'll try," Teddy whined a little, holding himself tightly, "You got a bottle in case, though?"

Jason nodded and fished out an old bottle from his side of the door.

"When we get there, Teddy, don't use your credit cards. Keep your face hidden as best you can. Don't talk to anyone. We'll just go in, you take a leak and I'll wait for you."

"Don't you need the bathroom?" Teddy frowned as he sat forward and tapped the dashboard in agitation.

"Nah. I'll hit the head later," Jason said, pulling into the car park and turning the engine off.

"Thank fuck," Teddy huffed, climbing out of the car as Jason did, "Right I'm going-"

"Wait for me," Jason insisted, pulling a rucksack out from the trunk of the car.

"Well hurry the fuck up," Teddy huffed, holding himself before walking briskly into the service station. He did a small dance before figuring out where the bathroom was.

Jason just rolled his eyes and went to check out the shops whilst he waited on the kid, thinking about his men back home and of course his sickly wife.

"That felt so fucking good," Teddy huffed as he sat back in the Aveo, scratching his knob then sighing once more contentedly. He looked at Taylor as he climbed back into the driver's side of the car.

"Glad you enjoyed it," Taylor said, closing his door and looking at his watch.

He was still clutching his rucksack which Teddy realised now, was suddenly fuller. Sure enough, Taylor opened the tatty black bag and revealed that it was stuffed with all sorts; snacks, fresh t-shirts, razors. How'd he manage to afford all of that?

Teddy frowned when Jason handed him a ham sandwich from out of his rucksack and then looked back out towards the road and set off driving.

"I thought you told me we weren't allowed to use our bank cards?" Teddy huffed, his stomach growling loudly as he opened the packet and took a bite.

God that tasted so fucking good…but not good enough to see past the fact that Taylor was allowing himself to use his bankcard and Teddy couldn't use his. If Taylor was allowed to use his own bank card, Teddy didn't understand why he couldn't use his own to buy himself some smokes.

God he was desperate for a cigarette right now.

This was the longest he'd ever gone without one since he was fifteen. It was starting to hurt.

"I didn't use one," Jason shrugged, taking a bite out of a cheese sandwich he pulled out of his pocket before turning left and driving off out of the parking lot and onto the motorway once more.

"But...wait. So how did you pay for all this food?" Teddy frowned, looking at the CPO now.

"Stole it," Jason said and then just shrugged as though it meant nothing to him, "Desperate times."

"You can't steal food, Jason!" Teddy exclaimed in shock. How could he do that? Stealing was so utterly wrong.

"Oh so stealing food to survive is immoral to you but drugging your bodyguard with stomach irritant is perfectly okay?" Jason snapped sharply, "Fuck off, Teddy. You can't just pick and choose which morals you want to uphold. I'm starving; I haven't eaten all day. I stole a sandwich. So what? I've also stolen us clean clothes until we get to my money drop box because if you'd forgotten, I happened to have been shot in the arm and bled all over myself."

"Don't tell me to fuck off," Teddy growled, shaking his head as he looked at the stolen sandwich in his hands. Food was something he'd been brought up to respect by his father and so it was difficult to overcome those intimate life lessons and eat the rest of it, "Are you sure no one caught you stealing this?"

"I promise no one caught me stealing some sandwiches, Teddy," Jason rolled his eyes, "It's not the first time I've had to steal food. It was relatively easy at this time of night too."

"You've stolen in the past?" Teddy frowned; that was news to him. Did his dad know that his beloved CPO was a thief?

"You do what you need to do to survive in this life, Teddy." Taylor just shrugged and turned his CD up a little louder to indicate that he didn't want to keep talking with him any longer. The conversation was apparently over to him which was fine; Teddy wasn't interested in asking the bastard more questions. Instead he just took another bite out of his sandwich before searching the bag for a drink to wash it down with.

Of course, Taylor had also stolen them water too, and some chocolate and medicine.

Whether it was wrong or right, Teddy had to admit it was bloody good to have food in his empty belly once more.

.

.

 **What felt like a life time ago…...**

 **Home Town,**

 **Bandera County,**

 **One and a half hours from San Antonio,**

 **Texas,**

 **.**

"Mom, this is Jason Taylor. He's in my class and plays with me at recess," Calvin said, walking in front of Jason and leading him into one of them new houses being built about the his home town, "Jason, this is my mom and dad."

"Howdy," Jason nodded, holding his jacket over his school trousers a little tighter.

"'howdy'?" Calvin's father scoffed and Jason squared himself up a little in anticipation of a fight, "We greet each other properly in this household."

"Yes, Sir," Jason squeaked with nerves. He shouldn't be here. He should have gone done what his Grandpa taught him to do; punch Calvin for even speaking to him on account of the boy's dark skin. If Grandpa knew he'd come into this house he'd be getting a beating for sure and wouldn't be able to sit for a week like last time Grandpa punished him.

Calvin cleared his throat nervously as he stared at his parents. Jason, himself, was terrified. He hated meeting new people, especially meeting other kid's parents. His own Mama didn't like meeting new people now either. Not since Dad had died. She would get up and feed Jenni-Lyn and maybe make him and Trevor breakfast if she remembered but she wasn't so good at remembering these days and didn't normally have food in the cupboard on account of her 'w _idower's package not stretchin' far enough to cover Jenni's baby milk let alone feed two greedy boys and pay the bills._ ' She worked at the town postoffice now but that meant Jason and his brother, Trevor, were under the care of their grandpa which was sure scary 'cause he had a mean temper. And he didn't feed them much either. When Dad was home, it had been so different.

Thinking about Dad made Jason gulp a little and straighten up more as Calvin's mother came over to meet him. She was a real purtee woman with very dark skin and with hair like Calvin's and nice clothes. She'd really nice teeth too and a warm smile which made Jason feel a little more relaxed and a little safer.

A little…until she reached out to touch him.

"Hello, Mr Taylor. My name is Mary. Would you like to stay for dinner?" she asked curiously, noticing his flinch so kneeling down to his height so she could stare him in the eyes. She sure did have lovely eyes. Like chocolate left in the sun; all warm and gooey and extra tasty cause you could dip things in it to eat like carrots. Trevor would melt Jason chocolate all the time and dig-up carrots from the school allotment so they could both eat something, the chocolate making the raw vegetables taste nicer.

Jason nodded to the offer of food but then flinched when she reached out and stroked his black eye, "It's okay, dear. Have you been in the wars?"

"No ma'am," Jason said with a shake of his head, "Not proper wars, ma'am. Ma Grandpa caught me stealin' rations from the neighbour's pigs. They get to eat corn."

"Oh," Mary frowned and studied him more closely, scrunching up her purtee face as she stared at him good and hard. Jason stuck out his jaw defiantly like Trevor always did when Grandpa hit him; to show no fear, "Your Grandpa hit you hard enough to bruise you?"

Jason nodded once, then stopped and stood still, not noticing his jacket slipping a little front the front of his school trousers.

"I'm sorry he hit you," Mary said sincerely and then looked down and noticed his wet pants; the reason Calvin had invited him to his house. He'd had an accident on the walk home from school after getting late detention for hitting Susy for taking his milk, "Calvin, go get Mr Taylor something to change into."

"Yes, mom," Calvin nodded and hurried through the house, leaving Jason stood in piss-soaked pants with two strangers. Calvin's dad was watching him closely but was yet to say anything else to him. He made Jason nervous, especially when he put down his newspaper and pointed at Jason with a long finger.

"How old are you?" he asked in an accent Jason had never heard before. It was difficult to understand what he asked. Maybe he was from Boston? Dad had said his bestfriend was from Boston somewhere and had a funny voice. When Jason was a bigger boy he'd go to Boston looking for him and thank him for looking after his dad and making him smile when the war got scary for him.

"Ah'm seven next month, Sir," Jason replied, holding his school coat tighter again.

" _Taylor. Taylor. Taylor…_ Is your Grandfather the town pastor?" Calvin's dad asked, "Does he know you're here?"

"Yes, Sir, he is the Pastor," Jason said and then panicked a little when Calvin's dad asked if his grandfather knew where he was, "No. He can't know ah'm here."

"Why is that now, Mr Taylor?" Calvin's dad pressed, sitting forward and staring down at Jason, scaring the life out of him; if Grandpa learnt he was here he'd be in for it good when he got him. And Trevor couldn't save him this time. He'd get twenty lashes and be made to read out of the Kloran and he didn't want that. He couldn't read that anymore and mama wouldn't help him when he asked her.

"Walter," Mary commented, over at the kitchen cooking up something delicious, "He's just a little boy."

"But he'll get bigger," Walter mumbled, glaring now at Jason; was Walter going to hit him or worse, tell Grandpa where he'd gone?

"Grandpa can't know ah'm here because you're black," Jason said honestly, bracing himself for the hit which didn't come.

"Walter, he's shaking," Mary scoffed, "Leave him be."

"Why are you here?" Walter pressed now.

"Ah had an accident," Jason croaked, wiping his eyes as his lip trembled, "Ah was scared Grandpa would belt me good again and Calvin said ah could come here till my pants dried. Calvin and me play soldiers in school and Calvin lets me play with his toys sometimes so's long as ah beat up the bullies."

"Walter I swear on all that is holy, stop interrogating him. His Grandfather's crimes are not his," Mary snapped and knelt back down to Jason's level, "You are welcome here, Mr Taylor, for as long as you need. Lets get you changed and we can have dinner. Do you like soup?"

"Yes," Jason choked, unsure why he was shaking so much. Mary gently touched his sore eye and he didn't flinch this time. She tenderly stroked his cheek, an act of kindness he'd not received from his own mother since his father died in 'Nam four years ago. It made his eyes water and he leant against her hand, feeling her take the weight and mother him.

Trevor would like Mary, Jason thought. He'd need to bring his brother to meet Calvin and Mary.

"Good because I've got chicken soup and homemade bread and you can have as much as you want so those piggies get to keep their corn, okay?" Mary said to him with such a lovely, soft, caring voice.

He actually laughed and smiled, wiping his tears. He was a man an' men don't go cryin' to women. Dad always said that, "Yes, ma'am."

"Then you can play with Calvin if you want. He's got lots of toys in his room," Mary promised, looking up when Calvin came back holding a pair of trousers for him.

Jason ate so much soup his tummy hurt.

Mary had kept filling his plate and he'd been unable to refuse, gobbling down as much as he could. He dared not refuse a single drop because he wasn't sure when he would next get a good meal. Mary and Calvin were really welcoming and they even gave him extra slices of bread for Trevor to eat when Jason got home.

Not that he wanted to go home anytime soon.

He liked this place and he liked Calvin and Mary and even Walter who didn't comment when Jason decided he wanted to lick the bowl clean.

Chicken soup was now his favourite food in the whole wide world.

"Pew pew pew!" Jason declared, running around Calvin's little room, pretending to fire guns from his fingers, having an absolute ball. He didn't have much toys, only a few old cars and stuff. After Dad died they'd had to move in with Grandpa by the church and there wasn't many toys to play with because Grandpa thought them sorts of things were unholy cause all Jason's free time should be for praying and doing chores. Jason thought his free time was better spent playing and he was sure having fun playing with Calvin.

"No you can't shoot me cause you're dead!" Calvin huffed, shaking his head as he sat down at his desk and watched Jason curiously, "You're such a cowboy."

"You don't want to play soldiers anymore?" Jason asked with disappointment.

"I don't really like Soldiers. I like drawing more," Calvin nodded, "It makes me relax. Look I drew you in class."

"Why'd you draw me? You aint queer are ya?" Jason giggled, looking at the picture and smiling a little; Calvin had even drawn Jason's ginger hair, "That's really good. Can ah try drawin'? I'll draw you!"

"Okay," Calvin nodded eagerly and handed Jason a sheet of paper and a pencil, "You can sleep over if you want. I don't mind. We could share the bed and mom makes good breakfasts."

"My Grandpa would know ah was here," Jason sighed, "Plus my brother could be hungry; mama doesn't cook any more on account of my dad's death."

"You can come here for dinner whenever you like," Calvin nodded, "Mom said you had proper manners…even when you licked the bowl"

"Good," Jason replied, "Calvin am ah your friend?"

"I think so," Calvin smiled, "You've played with me since I moved here from California and you keep me safe from Freddie and the other big boys. Am I your friend?"

"Yes but only in school and here; otherwise ma Grandpa would know and ah would get a spankin'," Jason sighed, "Secret best friends?"

"Secret best friends," Calvin nodded and then giggled when he looked at Jason's picture, "That's really bad!"

.

.

 **A/n; drama for the family whilst Teddy and Jason bicker away together completely oblivious to what happened. Will Ryan make a safe recovery and will Gail finally admit what's wrong to Christian and Ana? What's everyone's thoughts on The Accident Ana mentions?**

 **These flashbacks will tie up together eventually for the soul purpose of fluff/comforting. Eventually. But I've a few more scenes I want to get done before that.**

 **There's some similarities to the B-list characters in this story and in my previous ones (Jason coming from a close-minded, racist, family, Reynolds being gay, Ryan being autistic and Luke being a joker) but there's no affiliation between stories; I'm just too lazy to rewrite backstories for everyone, ever time so please forgive me!**

 **Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews, the follows, the author favourites and follows also! Really makes my day. You guys are the best! :)**

 **Dx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Shorter chapter because I've had super bad writer's block! Sorry for the delay :(**

 **.**

 **Chapter eight.**

.

"Is Ryan okay?" Ana asked the minute the doctor came to speak to them. She was sat cuddled under Christian's arm, terrified for their beloved CPO. Reynolds had cut into the man's windpipe to allow him to breathe until the paramedics had arrived in Escala but he's lost so much blood too that Ana was sure he'd died.

"Mr Ryans is recovering, Mrs Grey," the doctor explained, sitting down beside them to discuss what was going on, "We've been able to remove the bullet and close up the wound so we're hopeful that his recovery will be fast and complete. However," the doctor looked at Christian then, "The Police have him under surrveilence right now for his protection. It may be a while until you can see him."

"I can't believe someone attempted to snipe you," Ana gasped, holding Christian's hand tightly as the doctor excused himself to his other patients, "What has Teddy done?"

"I've no idea," Christian sighed, holding Ana a little tighter, "I have every faith in Taylor's abilities to keep him alive and out of trouble. However…I don't know what we're going to do next. I mean, they tried to kill me. They must know who Teddy is if they tried to take out his father."

Ana shuddered.

She didn't want to have to think about the horrible sight of her husband with a red light glued to his forehead. Had she not shouted, she doubted highly that the men would have noticed and acted as quickly as they had.

"Reynolds is with the police right now, baby," Christian sighed, "We'll work out our next step with him and Welch."

They both looked up as Luke returned from the bathroom, excusing the policeman who'd offered to guard the door in his absence. Ana still couldn't believe how quickly Luke had gone from annoying joker to military trained killer, running to the other building to try and find the sniper.

Of course it was to no avail and the cherry to the day of complete fuck ups.

The Sniper was gone by the time Luke got there.

Ryan had nearly died.

Someone had tried to kill Christian.

Teddy was god knows where with Jason, miles away from his family Ana was sure.

God she wanted this nightmare to be over soon but she was terrified to think that it had only just started.

She looked over to where Gail and Phoebe were sleeping on the family room sofa, snuggled up together. Worried for her precious baby boy, Ana hoped and prayed that he too was somewhere warm and cosy and safe with Taylor.

Ana wished she had Christian's confidence in Taylor's abilities but the reality was she just wanted her baby boy home where she could see for herself that he was alive and well.

"I'm worried for him too," Christian admitted, reading Ana's thoughts apparently, "I wasn't before but now…now I can't believe he let himself get caught up in this sort of mess. Especially now that it involves us too. I'm really scared for him."

"I'm sure he's out there with Taylor right now, safe and sound in a hotel somewhere in Canada. I bet they're in a comfortable room with warm water," Ana listed, "and a TV. Taylor hates missing the Seahawk games."

"I know," Christian sighed and tightened his hold on Ana as they both watched their daughter sleeping, "I just want him to know that we love him and that we're so worried for him. But you're right; Taylor's probably taken him to the Ritz or something…"

.

 **Meanwhile…**

 **In the middle of Fuck Knows,**

 **In the State of Fucking Anywhere,**

 **God knows how long till the fucking destination,**

.

"…You really outdid yourself with this one, Taylor," Teddy whispered, shaking his head as Taylor pulled the Areo up into the parking lot of a questionable motel. Were they even in Washington anymore? Because this was something straight out of Nevada; the buzzing neon light reminding him of Bright Light City. No establishment required this much electrical advertisement.

Teddy had no idea where they honestly were and Taylor was continuing to be tight-lipped about their destination. All Teddy know was they were in the middle of Fuck Knows Where. Taylor hadn't said anything since they'd eaten those stolen sandwiches, merely grunting at Teddy's questions and humming to the music whilst Teddy attempted to sleep. Eventually Teddy had turned the radio off and rolled over to snooze up against the window and Taylor hadn't turned it back on.

The silence worked for them both, it appeared. Teddy was sure Taylor hated him just as much as Teddy hated the big ugly bastard.

"There's nothing wrong with this place," Taylor scoffed, leaning forward against the wheel as a yawn rattled through his body.

"You and me walk in there and the receptionist is going to think we're fucking," Teddy observed in outrage, shaking his head. He then noticed how uncomfortable that made Taylor, seeing the man glare and tense, "I might put your tie on. You know; school boy and old man-"

"Shut up," Taylor growled then.

"Ku-Ku-Ka-Chu, Mr Robinson," Teddy smirked, loving to press the man's buttons. The jerk had dragged him all the way out to the sleaziest motel in America; too right Teddy was going to wind him up.

"What did you just call me?" Taylor frowned, looking at him, "Mr Robinson?"

"Yeah, a play on words. Like from the song by Simon and Garfunkle?" Teddy pointed out.

"The Graduate."

"Huh?" Teddy asked, "What?"

"The Graduate. It's a Dustin Hoffman film. Mrs Robinson was played by Anne Bancroft?" Taylor said, lifting his eyebrow at Teddy's confusion, "Oh come on. You of all people must know who Mrs Robinson is?"

"Never heard of her out with the song," Teddy admitted, unsure about Jason's crocked smile. He felt like he was missing part of a joke, especially when Taylor shook his head and laughed.

"Well check her out. Incredibly hot," Taylor said and turned the engine off before yawning again. He scratched his stubbly jaw, rubbing his eyes before getting out the car and stretching his legs. Teddy copied him, cracking his back before following Taylor into the Motel, trying to look at home and relaxed.

"Y'all got a room for the night?" Teddy heard Taylor ask the gruff looking woman behind the counter, "For me and my son."

He was playing up the Texan drawl, Teddy laughing under his breath and the woman not only gave Taylor a room key…but also a phone number.

"Thank you kindly, ma'am," Taylor smiled.

"I get off at four am, Cowboy…if you want to get off with me," the flirted, fluttering two eyelids weighted in blue powdery shadow.

"Mighty temptin', Ma'am, but ma son can't be trusted alone," Taylor said and shot a look to Teddy, "He's a troublemaker."

"Aw Paw! You gone made me outta be a rootin-tootin outlaw," Teddy replied, attempting a terribly offensive Southern accent, "Meet the purtee woman. Been years since you was with a woman," Teddy pressed, looking at the woman behind the counter and reading her name badge, "Be gentle with him, Barbara. He misses Maw."

Taylor glared at him, then looked back to the woman and flashed her a smile, taking the key, "Thank you, kindly, Barbara."

"You're welcome, Cowboy," Barbara winked, "See you later."

Teddy smiled, laughing as Taylor grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him out of the reception and into the car park, heading to their motel room.

"Why is everything a joke to you?" Taylor challenged, shoving him out of the way and opening the door to the cesspit they were to be staying in. It was every bit the stereotype with a stained furry carpet, damp ripped wallpaper and a fantastic floral bedspread which Teddy was itching to burn.

Only one bed too.

This was going to be an experience and a half.

"I'm making it a joke? Where'd that accent come from, _y'all_?" Teddy argued.

"If, by some miracle, we're traced here, she's going to refer to me and you as 'the Texan Father And Son'. It buys us a few extra hours." Taylor snapped, then shook his head incredulously, "And I'm Texan! When I was your age I was graduating from military boarding school and preparing to fight for my country!"

"Fight for your country? You mean butcher the helpless for the sake of oil!" Teddy argued back.

"That oil keeps your Ferrari running. You know, the one Daddy bought you?" Taylor smirked and Teddy felt his nostrils flare and his hands ball into fists. He was about to speak out when Taylor shook his head and walked away, heading into the bathroom, "I'm not arguing with you. We've still got a long way to travel and I'm exhausted."

Teddy bit his lip in frustration then sat on the bed, head in his hands before running his fingers through his hair. Taylor was right; they had a long way still to go. There was really no point arguing so early in their journey.

They were both tired and groggy and cranky. Plus Teddy was dying for a cigarette and withdrawing badly.

"You alright?" Taylor asked, and Teddy looked up to see that the man was topless, covered in dry brown blood with his tie still wrapped tightly around the furrow in his arm which the bullet had made earlier.

The man was incredibly buff, Teddy had to give him credit for keeping himself in shape despite his age. He'd several horrible scars across his body and tufts of gingery-blonde hair all over his body but still he held himself with a confidence Teddy had never felt himself. It made him jealous too.

"I'm dying for a smoke," Teddy admitted, looking into Taylor's blue eyes.

Taylor rose an eyebrow then scratched his stubble, "Right, okay. Can you hang off for tonight and I'll see what I can do tomorrow?"

 _What?_

Teddy frowned, staring at Taylor hard. Was he seriously going to get him smokes?

"I thought we didn't have spare money?" Teddy frowned.

"We don't," Taylor nodded, "But I can steal you some. Somehow."

"You'd do that for me?" Teddy spluttered a little, utterly shocked by Jason's offer, "You'd actually steal me some cigarettes?"

"If it stops you being a grumpy cunt, yes," Taylor shrugged, walking towards the bed now and unbuckling his pants, "You okay topping and tailing?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter nine.**

 **.**

 **12 years ago…...**

 **Grey Mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle,**

 **.**

"Teddy! That card is perfect," Ana smiled big, kissing her son's cheek and stroking his copper hair. He was going through a phase of wanting to be 'one of the guys', starting to notice the difference between men and women in terms of traditional gender roles. He saw Gail and Ana as doing 'women jobs', cleaning, cooking, mothering. Christian, Jason, Ryan, Reynolds and Luke were all doing 'man's work' which he believed he too should be doing now at the age of seven.

It was infuriating but adorable at the same time; he kicked up a stink about cleaning up after himself but he was very eager to copy his father and be a provider in his own weird way. Just yesterday he told Ana he'd 'fixed' the Television, having 'tinkered' with it using the toy tool box Luke had bought him for being brave when he needed stitches for hitting his head when he was four.

Cars especially were a favourite of her son's and she loved watching him outside with Christian and Taylor washing the many family cars.

"Will it make Daddy's poops better?" Teddy asked whilst Ana helped Phoebe with her own 'Get well soon' card. Hers was a mess but she was only little and had the attention span of a pin right now.

"I hope so, Teddy," Ana smiled, looking up when Gail came through with a tray of soup and crackers for Christian who was under total quarantine from Ana and the kids. Phoebe's back teeth were bothering her so she was in that permanent limbo stage of forgetting they hurt and crying loudly in discomfort the next minute. For that reason, Christian and ana were taking no chances. Ana couldn't get sick when Phoebe was being so clingy so they were doing everything to stop it spreading.

Sophie's school was riddled with shigellosis and the poor young girl had gotten sick over the weekend while she was with her father and Gail.

From there, Gail had caught it.

And then Jason had inevitably caught it whilst caring for her. He'd been fine until it suddenly hit him driving Christian to a meeting, having to pull over at McDonalds to use the bathroom 'urgently'.

From then, Reynolds was struck down the day Gail had gotten back to her usual self.

And then Ryan a day later.

And now Christian had been a victim.

Because Gail was recovered, she'd been acting as a nurse and the messenger for Christian, bringing him soups, dry foods, and bucketloads of water. The kids couldn't see him, Christian was too exhausted and sick and neither he or Ana wanted the kids catching it. So Christian had voluntarily put himself into quarantine in the guest wing.

"That's a lovely picture, Teddy," Gail promised, "That will really cheer him up."

"How's Taylor?" Ana asked, "And everyone. I can't believe how many people have caught it!"

"He's not got the diarrhoea anymore and he's stopped being sick but that's probably all because he's not eating anything. He still has really bad stomach cramps though," Gail nodded, "Craig says that he's caught it from Reynolds and now little Mei is sick. Nora had to call the paramedics because Ryan was so weak and hadn't had anything to drink for two days; wasn't keeping anything down. Thank god for private health care because the Staff Doctor went out and gave him an IV drip. That's helped I think but really he's not as chirpy as usual."

"…That's a lotta cards," Teddy announced with a deep sigh and a whistle, shaking his little head, "Sure glad you don't got it mom."

"I'm glad I don't have it either, Teddy," Ana agreed, stroking his cheek, "But what have we learned about being sick?"

"You gotta wash your hands!" Teddy grinned, "Mommy, can Stephen stay over tonight?"

"No baby, Stephen can't stay over tonight," Ana sighed, pulling a crayon from Phoebe's nose, "Not while Daddy's ill. We need to be extra quiet when Daddy's ill so he gets better and can play with us again."

"I know but," Teddy pouted and sighed, "Okay. Fine. Can I play with Luke then?"

"Luke's working, Teddy," Ana chuckled, "Why don't we finish making cards and you can put your Pyjamas on and we'll watch a movie together. Maybe Gail can watch it with us if you ask nicely?"

Teddy nodded and smiled big up at Gail, "Gail, would you like to watch a movie with us tonight? I'll let you pick too 'cause Jason's sicky and you must be bored cause you don't get to cuddle right now."

Ana had to laugh and Gail joined in, both women sharing a knowing look. The innocence of children was a precious thing.

"You're right, Teddy. Jason and I haven't gotten to cuddle in weeks now. I miss cuddling badly," Gail sighed dramatically and Ana giggled.

"I know that feeling, Mrs Taylor," Ana agreed, Christian just wanting left alone from the world while sick. It didn't happen often but Christian Grey was the perfect example of Manflu. Jason had continued to try and soldier through the dysentery but Christian was milking it for sure now. As sore as his tummy was, you'd think the man had been shot. Grace had told him to 'Grow a set of balls' on her visit the day before.

"Well Gail, don't tell Jason but I'll cuddle you. I'm a good cuddler. Mommy says so and so does Lily," Teddy giggled.

"Oh? And why are you cuddling a girl called Lily?" Ana quizzed, lifting an eyebrow.

"She's me and Stephen's girlfriend," Teddy blushed and then laughed that lyrical child laugh, "We share her and we can cuddle together."

"All three of you cuddle at the same time?" Ana asked with a straight face, although internally she couldn't help but laugh and knew Stephen's mom would see the funny side too.

"God, Jason dreams of getting to cuddle me and another woman at the same time," Gail muttered and Ana lost it, laughing loudly and freely.

"I'll give him lessons. It's really easy," Teddy told Gail informatively, "The girl has to go in the middle and and and then Stephen holds her front and I hold her back and and then we switch!" he announced, jumping off his seat quickly, "I need a wee-wee mommy!"

"Quick then," Ana chuckled, wiping her eyes, "He's his father's son, huh?"

"He's a helpful little man when he tries," Gail agreed, hearing him yell that he made it to the toilet; he still had a nasty habit of waiting till the very last moment to go.

"He's mommy's little doctor," Ana smiled, then rolled her eyes when her giggly daughter picked up a pen and coloured the table, "Oh Pheebs," she laughed, "What you doing? Are you being messy? Are you?"

Phoebe giggled loudly, clapping her hands, "Mommy, I do'd drawn for dada!" she cheered excitedly/

"Yes, you did draw for Daddy," Ana smiled, "Gail's going to go and post them to Daddy for us since Daddy's got a sore tummy. Give the card a big kiss for Daddy."

"Mmmmmmm-uhhh!" Phoebe declared, leaving a big drooly mark on her messy pink card, "N'night, Dada. Wuv you."

"I'll tell him you said that," Gail smiled, ruffling Phoebe's corkscrew hair.

.

.

 **Present time…**

 **03:12,**

' ** _Some sleazy Motel'_** **,**

 **Portland still,**

 **Oregon,**

.

"Teddy?"

The teen didn't move, didn't shift. He was still cocooned in the bedsheets he'd stolen from Jason, and he'd also shifted in bed so much that he'd left Jason with nothing more than a small sliver of mattress.

Jason shook his head and looked back into the bathroom, taking a deep breath and staring at the ugliest, blackest, most Satanic spider he'd ever seen in his life. The little bastard was sitting triumphantly on the back of the toilet watching Jason with eight beady eyes.

'Oh hey, Jason, you need a piss?' Jason was sure he heard it say, taunting him with eight long legs which twitched just enough to let Jason know that he was alive and not some twisted toy.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

He couldn't even go outside to piss because he'd not be able to sleep knowing it was here, waiting for him.

To bite him.

He looked at his bare knee and saw the tiniest of scars, a miniscule one compared to the hundred others warping his skin. In a flash of pain he remembered the Black Widow who he'd disturbed hiding in the undergrowth in Texas, the bite which resulted in his hospitalisation and near death as his young body went into complete shock.

God he wished Gail was here.

"Teddy."

Still, the young Grey did not move. In fact he groaned, farted and then smiled to himself in his sleep.

Dick.

He was far too comfortable considering what he'd witnessed; everything seemed like a fucking joke to him still. Hopefully it would remain a joke to Teddy, however, Jason suddenly realised with a bolt of clarity. Because the moment it would become real to Teddy would be the moment people died and Jason didn't want that. Heck, they loved the same people; Gail, Ana, Grey, Phoebe, Luke, Ryan, Reynolds. If any one of them got hurt because of Teddy's stupidity, it would devastate Jason, but it would also, hopefully, devastate Teddy.

Wouldn't it?

Surely the Kid had a conscience under the tough guy dickhead act.

Hopefully.

Jason looked back at the massive spider guarding the toilet and preventing him from taking a single step into the bathroom. Maybe he could just piss in the sink across from-

The bastard moved and Jason jumped back out into the bedroom.

Nope, he needed it gone and using his gun like he would have done back in his own home just was not an option. He needed to keep his bullets saved until they got to his second drop box and equipped themselves.

"Teddy," he called again and this time he shoved the younger man.

He opened one tired grey eye and closed it quickly, "Is it time to go?"

Well that was a surprise; Jason had anticipated getting Teddy to move out first thing in the morning was going to be challenging. Apparently promising him smokes was the way forward with this clusterfuck.

"No Teddy, it's not. Do you think you can do me a favour?" Jason asked, pointing into the bathroom, "There's a massive spider in there."

"Oh," Teddy yawned, rubbing his eyes sleepily and climbing out of bed instantly with little fuss. He tugged his boxers up at the butt, supporting an erection like Jason had had about twenty minutes ago before coming face to face with the monster in the bathroom. It was good in a way that Teddy was comfortable around Jason in that state; Jason knew that they would be sharing a lot of rooms for the next few weeks until Reynolds made contact with him. Theodore Grey better get used to shitting with the door open 'cause Taylor didn't want him out of his sight.

"Is there a glass?" Teddy yawned, looking at the spider and hesitating for a nano-second before just approaching the ugly thing and grabbing it in his bare hand.

His bare hand.

Jason felt sick.

"Can you get the door for me, please?" Teddy asked, not approaching Jason yet and instead just holding the creature effortlessly, "I'll put it outside if you come with me."

Jason nodded and did just that, unlocking the door and walking outside first, his piece in the back of his own boxer shorts. He scanned the area and only called Teddy through when he felt it was safe, Teddy keeping his distance from Taylor as he walked towards their neighbour's motel room and left the spider there, coming back quickly and effortlessly.

"Thanks," Jason said, a little shocked at how…helpful Teddy suddenly was in that moment. It was as though he'd taken off his Attitude Mask and was, in that moment, there little Teddy Bear once more, "Thanks, Ted."

"'s nuffin," Teddy mumbled, washing his hands, scratching his nuts before walking back over to the bed. He unfolded the bedsheets again, gave Taylor back the pillow he'd acquired, and climbed back into bed, "Just get me smokes."

Jason nodded and joined Teddy in bed, a little numb by how Teddy had acted. Maybe there was hope for their relationship?

Maybe, somewhere, Teddy could forgive Jason for failing him.

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **Swedish Emergency Room,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington State.**

.

Christian, Ana, Gail and Phoebe weren't able to leave the hospital just yet according to Welch. The Security expert had come down the minute Reynolds had called him and explained the situation, Welch then pulling in favours to have the authorities come to the hospital rather than transferring the Greys into their custody.

Christian had had to give a statement but, beforehand, Reynolds had made Christian swear not to mention Yukon and deny knowing where Taylor was taking Teddy for Teddy's safety. Reynolds was skittish about handing over information of that nature so Christian had complied and told the officers exactly what had happened in Escala;

' _Ana screamed and Ryan jumped in front of me.'_

That was all he really could say; that was all he really knew.

Welch was organising his own safe house and Christian was amazed by how quickly there were four extra security guards around them as well as the police outside watching the doors. Hopefully they'd be able to move out soon but at the same time Christian was worried for Ryan.

Phoebe was sat over by the window, holding a coffee and watching the busy street out front. He got up and walked over to her, carrying his own coffee as he sat down beside her.

"I'm really proud of you," he started and Phoebe looked up, a little startled, "For how you got Reynolds that knife. I know it was scary but you acted so calm under pressure. You saved Ryan's life. I'm exceptionally proud of you."

"Oh…thanks dad," Phoebe smiled, "It was nothing really. I saw mom had froze and just went for it. Someone had to and you were holding the wound and Gail couldn't 'cause, well, Ryan's like her son. Everyone knows that."

"Don't cut yourself short, baby," Christian sighed, "You did amazingly."

Phoebe smiled big then, looking so much like her mother only with Christian's athletic build. She was a beautiful young woman and Christian almost always forgot just how grown up his little girl was.

"You still fancying the Navy?" he asked then, smiling.

"I think so, dad," Phoebe said with a nod, "I think…I think so. I mean, I don't want to become Career Navy like Sawyer was in the SEALs. I think what I want is to maybe do a few years, get some experience and then join the Seattle Police Department. I think. I don't know. I just can't see myself going into the family business," she sighed and then looked at her dad, "Dad, is it weird that I got a real rush of adrenaline when Ryan was shot?"

"No honey," Christian smiled, putting his arm around her, "I got one too. I wish Ryan hadn't been shot but I felt it too. Like everything is in slow motion and the pressure of doing the right thing at the right time is almost crushing?"

"Exactly," Phoebe agreed, "I think all that did was confirm that I want to be doing something actively good with my life. I know mom is going to hate me for it."

"Your mother wont hate you. She'll worry about you," Christian admitted, "Look, I know she's not easy to live with. I know she can be really over protective of you kids too but-"

"I know dad," Phoebe sighed, "After the Accident, I can understand why she's like that. I mean, what mother wouldn't. I know."

Christian felt his stomach churn as he remembered that horrible phone call from Taylor, his wife and son sobbing in the background. Then there was the god awful press conference Christian had to make to hush the media.

It hurt just remembering it and he hadn't been there to witness the actual incident.

Neither Ana, Teddy or Taylor slept for years afterwards.

"I was actually going to say; if it's what you want, with all your heart, you will always have our support," Christian promised, kissing Phoebe's cheek, "You're our kids. We can't wrap you in cotton wool forever. If the Navy is what you want then you keep training with Taylor and become an Admiral or whatever the rank is."

Phoebe giggled then, "I don't know who would cry more; you, mom or Taylor."

"I think it would be a close tie," Christian laughed, "Just do better than Sawyer and you'll be laughing."

"He was a SEAL," Phoebe pointed out, "You don't get women on SEAL teams. I don't think. No, you don't."

And just like that, Sawyer appeared in the Family Room and nodded at Christian once; it was time to get back to work.

"Well if you don't get women in the Teams, then you be the first. Right, Sawyer?" Christian asked.

"Sir?"

"My daughter could join the SEALs if she wanted, right?" Christian said firmly and saw Sawyer squirm a little.

"Well, maybe someday, Mr Grey," he said diplomatically before looking at Phoebe with a proud grin, "Are you going to look into a career in the Navy, ma'am?"

"I think so, Luke," Phoebe nodded, "Daddy's had Taylor train me for a few months now."

"I knew it!" Sawyer laughed, getting incredibly excited. Christian knew that, had Sawyer's mom not become incredibly sick, he'd still be in California in the Navy himself, "That's brilliant, Phoebe. If there's anything I can help you with, please let me know."

Christian smiled, kissing Phoebe's forehead and standing up and addressing Sawyer, "I better go find Welch. I've got to give a press conference about this whole fuck up."

"Yes sir," Sawyer nodded, "Ryan's coming round from surgery. He's exceptionally lucky. Reynold's doing the tracheotomy saved his life."

"Where is Reynolds?" Christian asked.

"With Welch, Sir," Sawyer nodded.

"I'm proud of you too, Dad," Phoebe called as Christian walked away, "You'll be an awesome politician. I don't know if we say that enough to you too."

.

.

 **Meanwhile…**

 **In the middle of Fuck Knows,**

 **In the State of Fucking Anywhere,**

 **God knows how long till the fucking destination,**

.

"Right," Taylor mumbled, scratching his stubble and yawning again, staring out the road as they drove through a small but busy village, "Okay."

Teddy watched him lean over Teddy's own seat and pull out a map out of the glove compartment, his eyes never leaving the road as he did so. He chucked it on Teddy's lap then put his hand back on the gear stick, sitting back up straight.

 _Oh fuck._

"What's this for?" Teddy frowned, hoping that Taylor had just handed it over for a moment while he pulled over to find a place to read it himself.

"Well considering we don't have phones or GPS systems we need to use maps so I know where we're heading," Taylor said matter-of-factly, "And I'm driving so you're on navigational duties."

 _Oh shit._

Teddy narrowed his eyes and tensed his whole body. He could feel his heart suddenly pounding at a rapid rate as he opened out the map and studied it. He broke out into a sweat as the words on the paper blurred and danced in a way which made it nearly impossible for him to read what was written.

 _How the fuck was he meant to do this?_

"Barbara at the motel gave me directions to get into the next town," Taylor added and handed over a folded piece of paper to Teddy which he'd pulled free from his jeans pockets. Slowly, Teddy opened it up and felt his palms getting sweaty all over again.

He couldn't read Taylor's writing right; it was all wrong in Teddy's mind.

 _Oh bollocks._

"Which road do I need to turn left down first?" Taylor asked, scouting the pavements for pedestrians who wanted to chance their luck and run out in front of the car. It was early on a Sunday after all; Church people were roaming around and the elderly were getting their Sunday messages form the only shop they'd passed in about an hour.

"Em," Teddy coughed and looked back down at the words written in a list.

That was a P first, Teddy was sure.

"P-puh-p-att-er-luh-fuck." Teddy growled, scrunching up the paper and chucking it at his feet, "What the fuck does it matter. It's so fucking stupid! Barbara probably doesn't know what the fuck she's talking about."

"Wow, wow, wow, hang on there, Ted. Cool it," Taylor frowned, holding a hand out as if he were trying to calm some sort of dog, one eye on Teddy and the other on the road, "Could you not read that?"

"Of course I can. Your handwriting is shite though," Teddy snapped, too afraid to look at Taylor now because he knew, he fucking knew, that Taylor had worked it out. That Teddy couldn't read. Well, that wasn't true. I could read, but he struggled and it took too long, too much effort that he avoided it at all fucking cost.

And he'd managed just fine coping alone with it since he was twelve.

Fucking cock sucker. Taylor was stopping. The prick pulled over at the first possible parking space he could find and turned off the car. Then, in a slow turn, he looked at Teddy, "Teddy, talk to me."

"I can read. Sometimes the words are blurry," Teddy shrugged, crossing his arms and glaring at his lap, "The glasses don't help. It's just…jumbled about."

"Do you think you're maybe dyslexic?" Taylor frowned, looking at him curiously.

"How the fuck should I know," Teddy challenged, "I'm not a doctor. I'm just a waster, right? A spoilt brat."

Taylor took a deep breath and persevered through Teddy's anger which was pissing him off doubly now; didn't the ugly bastard understand that Teddy did not, NOT, want to talk about this, "Why didn't you say you were struggling sooner?"

"Stephen did my English work for me. I did his Maths," Teddy shrugged and then suddenly felt his chest tighten up once more as he thought of his friend.

Taylor felt it too, Teddy was sure, watching the man's deep dark blue eyes cast down as he began staring at the dashboard of his shitty poor person car.

Fuck all of this, Teddy felt caged in.

"It's okay to struggle with writing and reading, Teddy," Jason said firmly.

"My mom's a publishing editor and now she's an author. Do you really think it feels okay to be her son and struggle to read fucking directions off a napkin written by the Help?" Teddy laughed and smirked, shaking his head, "It's what it is; I'm stupid. I've come to accept it. I'm the stupid son of Seattle's answer to Bruce Wayne. Prince of Seattle. Fuck that shit for a laugh. I'll never live up to that sort of title. I've accepted it. Now lets just get moving. I want my smokes."

"Teddy, Gail has Dyslexia," Jason tried again, only a little softer now, "Gail has it and I'm pretty sure it must be hereditary because her cousin has it too. What's to say you didn't get it from your dad's biological mom and dad? What's to say they both weren't dyslexic and it skipped a generation?" he challenged, "You might not even be Dyslexic. But that's what it sounds like; Gail struggles to read hand written notes without her tinted glasses."

"Those sexy green ones?" Teddy countered, wanting angry Taylor back. Angry Taylor was easier to hate that this nice Asshole front Taylor was suddenly pulling. And the easiest way to piss Taylor off was slandering his Little Woman. Everyone knew that.

"You better believe those sexy ones," Taylor, instead, replied with a wistful look. He knew Teddy was deflecting and trying to push Taylor's buttons but he wasn't letting him win. The fucker. "Those glasses are unbelievably sexy. Like a librarian thing? She keeps them on when she's giving me a blow job."

Damn, Teddy laughed then.

"You're such a fucking dick," Teddy huffed, feeling the fight leave him.

"I know," Taylor shrugged, picking up the piece of paper and handing it back to Teddy, "Try. No judgement. We'll get there eventually."

"Fine. But don't patronise me. I mean it," Teddy stressed, "It's no big deal, right?"

"Right. Just take your time," Taylor said firmly, "I don't care if you can't read fast or accurately. At this very moment it's at the bottom of my The Fucks I Give list."

As they drove off, Teddy turned the radio on to break the silence between them. Taylor didn't object which was fine, the big bear picking up one of the left over chocolate bars he'd stolen for breakfast earlier and taking a large bite out of it.

"Busy little place this is," he mumbled with a mouth full of Mars Bar.

"It's like a retirement home; everyone's like fifty," Teddy mumbled.

"Nowt wrong being fifty, young man," Taylor joked, sipping his bottle of water then offering it to Teddy for a sip, "Fifty is the new thirty anyway. Pamela Anderson is nearly fifty. Nothing wrong with her."

"She's old," Teddy scoffed, "Ariana Grande though."

"She's younger than my daughter," Taylor interjected, but didn't say either way. Teddy had to laugh again, shaking his head, "Pamela Anderson. Jennifer Aniston. Or Michelle Pfeiffer. She's nearly sixty and she's a walking wetdream. I've got her posters still from when I was young."

"Blonde haired women your thing?" Teddy chuckled, shocked by how easy this conversation was.

He and Dad never ever talked girls and on the rare occasions that they did, Dad only ever talked about mom. No ex-girlfriends, no funny one-night stand stories. Only ever mom. Teddy knew he'd had one ex called Leila who had given them some sort of grief when they were younger but no one talked about it and Taylor wouldn't even let Teddy see the files in the security office about it. So as far as dad was concerned the only woman to ever be in his life was mom…which was just gross to Teddy as it felt weird asking Dad anything about dating or sex. Thankfully the internet existed and he could google all sorts to avoid speaking to his parents about sex.

"Fuck yes," Taylor mumbled, "Working in GEH is a fucking nightmare; everyone's blonde and stunning but you've got to keep your eyes on the environment, not just Jacquie Delany from office sixty five-three."

"She the one with the tits?" Teddy asked Taylor then and smirked at his reaction. Yup, Teddy knew Jacquie Delany well. The woman was a total MILF. Teddy used to play soccer with her son and loved going to play round at Richard Delany's house just so that he could ogle the dude's mom. She was Columbian, olive skinned, big sea-green eyes, killer curves and a chest which was barely contained by her itty bitty shirt buttons.

Gaaaaaawd, Teddy had such a crush on her.

"You've noticed her too, huh?" Taylor said easily, coming to a brake at another set of traffic lights, a little old lady tottering past them.

"Yes," Teddy laughed, "She's my goddess."

"Sawyer's too. The pair of them got a little…close during her divorce. I had to discipline him for it," Taylor admitted, shrugging when he saw Teddy's shocked expression; should Taylor be telling him this classified information?

"Sawyer doesn't care who knows; he's proud. Don't worry; that's not classified. It's on his record but he wears the damn cunting like it's a medal of honour," Taylor explained, as though reading Teddy's thoughts, "So if you want more information, go to Sawyer."

"I'll have that bastard fired for touching my woman," Teddy mumbled, sipping the bottle of water.

"I think he kept her panties as a trophy," Taylor mused, "Danni made him chuck them but they're living in a frame inside his locker at work, rumour has it."

Teddy was about to laugh when the radio suddenly began playing a public announcement, interrupting what had been some chart music which only a day ago Teddy had been listening to in his bedroom getting ready to go out. He leaned forward and was about to switch stations when Taylor stopped him, grabbing his wrist.

"Wait," he mumbled, turning up the volume and slowing the car as they approached another little junction, "Shhhh."

"…There has been a heavy police presence around the businessman's penthouse in the Escala building. Witnesses to the early morning assassination attempt describe how they watched as two ambulances and seven police cars cornered off the streets and a man, who we can confirm is not Christian Grey, was stretchered out of the building and taken into one of the awaiting ambulances. We're about to go live to the Swedish Emergency Room. Where Christian Grey is going to give a press conference about the early morning incident…

' _In the early hours of yesterday morning an attempt was made on my life. Although my family and I are unharmed from the ordeal, one of our security personal was critically injured. He is stable and recovering now thanks to the efforts of the fantastic paramedics, doctors and surgeons as well as the SPD responders who aided in getting him to the hospital as quickly as possible. We are all really shaken up by this incident as I am sure you will all be aware of and therefore I ask for your privacy in the matter. We do not know why I was targeted as of yet but my family and I have full faith in the authorities' abilities to track down the assailant. No questions._ "

"…they shot at DAD?!" Teddy exclaimed, his eyes wide with utter horror, "They went after my dad?!"

"Apparently so," Taylor said calmly which pissed Teddy off to the high heavens because who the fuck was he to sit and be so fucking chilled about the whole mother fucking thing?

"Apparently so?!" Teddy echoed angrily, "Someone's been shot, Taylor! Someone tried to kill my dad and you're being so relaxed. What the fuck-"

"Do not confuse my calmness with rage, Theodore. One of the men I love has taken a bullet meant for your father because of the mess you've created. I am beyond livid, Teddy, but right now all I can do is get to the safe house with you and try and contact Reynolds," Taylor snapped, "Now shut up."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

.

 **Home Town,**

 **Bandera County,**

 **One and a half hours from San Antonio,**

 **Texas,**

.

Jason was in agony and terrified for his life and for Trevor.

Grandpa had found out about Calvin and Jason's friendship and all bloody hell had broken loose.

The beating had been particularly cruel today with grandpa using the horse's whip this time to rip up Jason's back. The crop had stung but it hadn't hurt as much as the fact that his mama hadn't answered his screams for help. She'd just stood, watching, holding his sister and encouraging Grandpa to punish him harder to 'rid the sin from his disobedient body'.

To punish him for being friends with a black boy.

Tears of anger flooded little Jason's eyes at the injustice of it all. Mary, Walt and Calvin had cared for him, let him play in their house, fed him, helped him with his homework, taught him to tie his shoes good. They even let Trevor come round once for dinner but Trevor had refused to go back because he was too afraid of Grandpa's rage.

Jason should have listened to his big brother and stayed away.

He sniffled and got mad at himself for crying; boys don't cry, only girls do.

But then he thought about his daddy and the tears kept coming.

And coming.

And coming.

And he couldn't stop sobbing as he walked, his nose running as he desperately tried to stop himself from weeping. His breathing was gaspy and painful with his sore ribs and it hurt to wipe his nose because he was pretty sure Grandpa had broken it.

Oh god he wished his daddy had come home.

Why did his daddy need to die?

Why did he have to go to Heaven when people like Grandpa were nasty and old and closer to death?

Daddy had been a soldier, he'd been a good man and he'd gone to Vietnam to get the bad guys, Jason knew that much. He'd been a hero but he still had to go and die and Jason was so angry at him for leaving him with a sick mamma and a grandpa who hated everything different to him and-

"Mr Taylor?" Mary called, seeing Jason stood outside their back garden gate, crying his little heart out. She put down her wash basket and rolled her sleeves up over her wrists, "Jason, what happened?"

"Grandpa knows," Jason choked then wept openly when Calvin's mother ran over and tenderly held him, careful of all his sore bits. Her hands were black but they weren't bad like Grandpa said they were. No, Mary was very kind and careful of Jason, tentatively comforting him like Jason wished his own mother would do for him.

"You're bleeding," Mary gasped when she felt how damp his shirt was at the back, "Walter! It's okay, come inside, Calvin's with his tutor but you can still come inside and we'll clean you up."

"He's g-g-g-going to kuh-kuh-kill Trevor," Jason panicked, barely able to speak as his gasping cries only got worse the more care Mary showed him, "Trevor hit him with a rrruh-rrrruh-rock to stop him-," he breathed loudly, "hurting me. I ran. I ran and I ran and I don't know what to do."

"Walter!" Mary shouted with more urgency, "Jason, look at me Sweetheart, you're safe with me and Walter. We're going to go to the police and get Trevor and you're both coming to live with us. I swear it."

"He'll kill me," Jason wept, looking up when Walter appeared brandishing his hunting rifle. The father took one look at Jason's face and cursed which was when Jason realised he looked super bad; Walter had tears in his own eyes.

"Walter, his grandfather's got his brother; we need to help him," Mary insisted, letting Jason bury himself in her warm breasts, her hand in his hair, the other on his butt as she scooped him up and let him weep in her embrace.

"Who are the police going to help, Mary? Me or the town's pastor?" Walter mumbled and Jason felt him placing his hand on his shoulder, "Take him in and clean him up. We can't get involved-"

"He is a child, Walter!" Mary shouted, "It's our rights as parents to get involve-"

"Mary, don't fight me on this," Walter growled, "We've just settled and I'm going to be working here for a long time; do not ostracize us by adopting someone else's child."

"Go see if his brother is alive," Mary snapped, turning on her heels and carrying Jason inside their warm, safe house. He felt her try to put him back down onto his feet but he didn't want to ever be let go. Instead he wrapped his legs around her and tightened his hold of her neck, shaking his head as he sniffled.

"Okay, okay, Jason," Mary soothed, sitting down in her rocking chair by the warmth of the fire, bundling him back up in her arms, "You're safe with me, Child. I wont ever let you go; Mary's got you."

"H-h-he wants to send me to military school," Jason admitted to her then, finally moving his face from her chest to stare at the fire place, "I don't want to go; I want to stay with you and Calvin."

She was quiet then, rocking them both gently, the comfort and the warmth of the fire enough to have Jason's eyelids become heavy and tired. He kept fighting sleep, wanting to know Trevor was alive, but he was only little and his little body had endured so much.

"You would be safe in military school, Jason," Mary promised, "You would be away from him. We would miss you very much but we would write to you and send you food and depending where it is we would visit you; I know Calvin would love that. He loves you."

"I love Calvin too; he's my best friend," Jason yawned, looking over when the door opened and Walter came in again with Calvin at his side.

"His brother's fine; I spotted him outside the chapel," Walter nodded, "Black eye but he's okay."

"Hey, Jason, want to play soldiers to feel better?" Calvin asked, walking over to Mary and Jason, smiling brightly at him.

"Calvin, Jason's not in the mood just yet," Mary cooed, tightening her hold on Jason, "Go fetch me the blanket from my room."

"Okay, mom," Calvin nodded, leaning down and laying a kiss on Jason's cheek before running to get the patch work quilt from Mary and Walter's bed. Mary continued to rock him by the fire, stroking his hair with her other hand rested on his bum still, gently tapping it like Jason's own mamma did to Jennilyn.

The last thing Jason remembered was being swaddled in the heavy blanket, his eyelids dropping completely as he feel into a deep sleep, safe and comforted in the arms of the mother Jason wished he'd had.

.

.

 **Present day….**

 **12th June,**

 **Morning time**

 **Swedish Emergency Room,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington State.**

.

It felt strange to Gail to wake up without Jason in her arms, cuddled into her embrace like some overgrown child. She was so used to him insisting he cuddle into her that she felt oddly cold when she sat up and yawned.

Her head was aching worse than normal and she remembered she'd promised Jason that she would tell someone that she needed medical help urgency…but that meant admitting that she was incredibly sick and she didn't want to begin any form of therapy or medical treatment without her husband beside her.

"Gail, you're awake," Sawyer said and she smiled at him, knowing that she missed her Jason just as much as he was probably missing his wife and girls.

"Yes, I guess I am," Gail smiled, stretching and looking across the Family Room, "How's Ryan?"

"He's going to make a good, strong recovery," Sawyer nodded, sitting away from them all in the shadow cast from one of the two lamps, "Reynolds and Welch have the police on board; we're going to be moving you, Ana, Pheebs and Grey into a safe location provided for by our own security resources; Reynold's worried there's moles in the SPD."

"It'll be good to be somewhere safe," Gail sighed, "I know we've got about thirty armed police here at the moment but I still can't help but feel apprehensive. I really hope Jason and Teddy are okay."

Gail saw Sawyer's body tense and he cracked his neck, "Do you have any idea where Jason is taking Teddy?"

"Jason's got property in a lot of places, Luke. We have our own safe house, yes, but he made me promise never to tell anyone where that was. Even you," Gail sighed, shaking her head, "He wouldn't be stupid enough to take Theodore there, I'm nearly certain."

"We think he's going to the Yukon," Sawyer said, scratching his stubbly jaw, "Do you know where?"

"I can't say I do, Luke," Gail sighed, "My memory's not so great right now. He went on a lot of fishing trips with Trevor up in the Yukon, and of course he and Mr Grey go hiking in Canada a lot but," she shrugged, "I don't know, Luke."

That didn't help matters, Gail could see Luke was bitterly disappointed that she didn't have a fast track method of getting in touch with Jason. She was disappointed too, but she had faith in her man; he was exceptionally intelligent, more intelligent than he even gave himself credit for.

"How's Ryan?" Gail asked, wanting to change subjects.

"You just asked me that," Luke frowned.

"Did I?" Gail sighed, shaking her head and looking over to where Ana was still asleep, "I need to visit the bathroom, Luke. Will one of the guards at the door escourt me?"

"I'll take you," Sawyer said and walked into the light. His blue-green eyes looked red and sore as though he'd been crying, Gail thought, but she knew never to push Luke when it came to emotions; like Jason, he was often very firm about never crying.

"Thank you, handsome," Gail smiled, "Don't worry; this will all blow over soon. Teddy will testify in court once the authorities say it's safe to do so. Imagine that, eh? Our Teddy Grey, eye witness to Stefano Esposito murdering someone. If he testifies and Esposito is found guilty, Teddy will have had a very dangerous man put behind bars. What a fantastic moment that will be for Seattle."

"You're being very optimistic," Sawyer mumbled.

"And you're being uncharacteristically doom and gloom, Luke," Gail frowned and turned to face him. She reached up and stroke his cheek softly, seeing that the touch had his eyes filling with tears, "It's going to be okay. I know it's scary to think that our families can be in trouble but they're not. They're safe. I have every faith in my husband's abilities to ensure our safeties."

Luke finally smiled then but it was a sad smile, not his usual self. He took a deep breath and nodded in agreement but still couldn't speak.

"Has everyone checked in safely?" Gail pressed, knowing each couple had a means of confirming their safe arrival at set safe houses. Jason had a private free-mail account which Gail was to email when she got to their own safe house. She wasn't sure what everyone else had in place but she was certain that they all had means of getting in touch when safe.

"Craig and Mei checked in to Reynolds Safe House a few hours ago," Luke confirmed, "Nora's still in Tokyo so she wont be coming home until everything is safe. Problem is she doesn't know Ryan's been injured so Welch is going to talk to her and reassure her Ryan's going to make a recovery."

"What about Danni and the girls?" Gail asked, curious as to whether that was what was bothering him. She knew it was Luke's car that had taken Teddy to the concert earlier that faithful night; that put Luke's family in greater danger.

"They're fine," Luke said and shrugged, "We spoke. They're fine."

"I'm glad," Gail promised, squeezing his shoulder before going into the Ladies Room to freshen up.

 **.**

 **Meanwhile…**

 **Esposito Townhouse,**

 **Downtown Seattle,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington**

 **.**

"You're telling me...some flashy little brat caught you shooting some little fuckface in one of our night clubs?"

Slick nodded, staring directly at the red antique desk which his aging father sat behind. Slick knew this was going to be bad but he could fix it. He knew he could and he almost had fixed it…until Grey's pretty boy bodyguard intercepted Slick's Sniper's bullet.

Hopefully they'd received the message loud and clearly that they were in the shit.

"Dad, one of my boys on the door identified the Brat. That's The Prince of Seattle's son; Christian Grey's heir," Slick pulled out a piece of paper with all the details he'd already gathered on the situation from their hostages. Grey's security team had tried to work fast but Slick's men got paid the big bucks for working faster and now they'd three hostages; a smoking hot blonde and two pretty little girls.

Slick cleared his throat, "Theodore Grey was last seen getting into a car with a Mr Jason Alexander Taylor, former Marine Corps with a James Reynolds. We've been unable to get more information about Reynolds; his file is encrypted so my guys reckon he's formally CIA," Slick read, showing his father the pictures he'd gotten from one of their moles in the SPD; CCTV footage of the car the three cunts had jumped into.

"Theodore Grey? No. Fucking. Way." Dad growled, rubbing his balding hair, shaking his head in utter disgust, "Stefano…how did you manage to get yourself into this sort of situation? You are my son but you're not immune. One wrong move and you'll be getting a cap in your ass if you do not fix this utter shit-"

"Dad, I'm going to-"

"Do not interrupt me!" Dad snapped, flaming his wrinkled fist down hard on his desk as he stood up, his greying eyes alit with anger, "You have three days, Stefano, or you're on your own. And I will not be able to protect you."

Slick gulped.

Three days?

"We've got a lead already," Slick said carefully once his father was seated, pouring a glass of imported vodka, "They left driving a blue and green Subaru Impreza; licence plate Sierra Four Whisky Yankee Romeo Six Nine."

 _S4WYR69._

"And what has that revelation yielded?" Dad asked with a spark of interest, lifting his eyebrow and studying Slick hard.

"We traced the address, an apartment in Downtown Seattle. Luke Nathan Sawyer, Daniella Louise Sawyer, Eden LeAnne Sawyer, eleven years old, and Isla Trixiebelle Sawyer, seven," Slick replied, looking at his paper once more just to confirm the ages.

"Where'd you find them? In the Confederacy?" Dad snorted, shaking his head, "Rednecks. Why are you telling me this?"

"We have them," Slick said and saw his father's jaw open slightly. "I had our boys run the plates the minute the car drove off. We didn't give them a chance; Bert and his boys snatched them before they had the chance to run."

And boy, were they squealers, Slick laughed to himself. Danni had told them everything the minute Slick's boy Bertie the Perv was introduced to the girls. The guy was a sleaze and a pervert; young girls a favourite. The Perv picking Isla up and going to take her through to the back room was all it took for the mother to tell Slick everything he needed;

The father was Luke Nathan Sawyer, former Navy, SEAL team one, and Close Protection Officer of Anastasia Grey. Jason Alexander Taylor was the girls Godfather and former Marine Corps, CPO to The Prince of Seattle; Christian Grey himself and would be taking Theodore Grey to a safe house, which she didn't know the location of, conveniently. Slick believed her though; after watching her eldest daughter being worked over by Slick's guys he was convinced the desperate mother didn't know anything which was a pity.

She did, however, know Gail Taylor, good ol' Jason's wife. She would possibly know where her husband was taking Theodore Grey. Even if she didn't know the location, Slick was sure that Gail could get a message out to her husband. And if Slick could get a hold of, say, Anastasia Grey, he was sure Theodore would come out of hiding.

"I've got a plan, Dad," Slick nodded, "Give me a week and I'll have that brat screaming to be shot."

Dad didn't look convinced, "How are you going to get close to the Greys."

"The Sawyer Father, Luke…he came to the building after the Sniper attack and made contact with my guy," Slick said, pulling a picture of Danni, Eden and Isla bound, gagged, crying and with guns to the daughters heads, "He's bringing me Taylor's wife and Theodore's mother."

"A week." Dad agreed and Slick left with a mission.

Sawyer would grab Gail Taylor and Anastasia Grey in exchange for his wife and daughters.

What was left of his daughters after Bert the Perv got his way.

Slick grinned and shook his head; Theodore Grey may be the Prince of Seattle's eldest child but Stefano Esposito Junior was the heir to his father's crime organisation.

Lets see who had more power, Slick smirked, prepared to prove to his uncertain father that he had the grit and stomach to take over the family business.

.

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **Heading north,**

 **Eating breakfast in an All American Diner,**

 **Oregon,**

 **.**

Jason was sick with worry as he identified Ryan being pulled out on the stretcher outside Escala, unable to eat his pancakes as he watched the news reel over and over again giving the update on the Christian Grey situation.

Teddy was just as worried by the look of him, barely touching his own late afternoon breakfast, "They've not said that he's dead," Teddy finally said.

"Yup," Jason nodded, then shook his head, "You're right. They would say if someone had died by now and your father's press conference seemed positive; Ryan's not dead."

He looked up as the diner waitress came to their booth and smiled brightly, "Coffee refill?"

"Yes please," both Jason and Teddy said, holding up their cups for a top up. Because Jason wasn't able to use his bank cards, he was rationing the money he had until he got to the next drop box but they'd needed to catch up on the news so Jason had pulled over into a diner on the freeway. It was a busy little place, buzzing with tourists travelling between Washington and Oregon and Canada, with that All-American diner red colour, a milkshake machine, juke box and waitresses wearing Fast Food joint uniforms.

Oddly enough, however, Taylor had spotted a piano in the far corner, untouched by anyone. It seemed like an oddity in a place like this but still it was there. Because why the fuck not allow amateurs to play renditions of The River Flows In You or Kinderszenen or Avril 14th? Or why not just let children bang away at it for the shits and giggles too.

Thank fuck the Piano was untouched otherwise listening to the television would be a fucking nightmare. Of course, every news station they flicked through had ' _Grey Assassination Attempt_ ' as one of their larger stories and each was offering the same sort of information;

' _Grey and his family were alive.'_

' _There were no fatalities.'_

' _Security guard in stable condition.'_

' _Police working hard to locate the people responsible.'_

All the usual bullshit but it was really doing nothing to keep Jason calm. It was confirmation, to Jason, that Slick Esposito knew it had been Theodore Grey who'd witnessed him murdering someone. That meant, to Jason, that everyone closely linked to Teddy was in grave peril.

That then meant that Gail would need to relocate to seek medical care safely.

His stomach dropped and he took a drink of his burning hot coffee; he wished he was with Gail right now. In their bed, cuddled into her arms. She'd run her hands through his hair, tap his lower back above his ass and just make everything wrong in the world feel so right. So safe.

"How's Sophie?"

Jason looked at Teddy then, lifting an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"How's Sophie?" Teddy repeated, back to eating his breakfast fry up.

"She's still in Cambodia teaching English," Jason explained, "Her and her boyfriend, Mittapheap."

"Who?" Teddy frowned, glaring a little bit at Jason as though he'd slapped him in the face for telling him Sophie was spoken for.

Jason shook his head, "Her boyfriend. Mitt. He's a native," he told Teddy, taking a drink of his burning coffee again, "They've been dating for two years now. He's coming for Christmas this year."

Teddy looked even more pissed off, "Two years?"

"Yes, two years," Jason said firmly, rising an eyebrow when Teddy slammed his fist on the table, "Is there a problem, Son?"

"No, Taylor," Teddy grumbled, shaking his head, "No problem."

Jason just shook his head at the kid, unwilling to believe him completely, "You sure?"

"Well no, there is a problem; Sophie and I made out on my birthday this year," Teddy blurted out, "That was this year when she's supposedly in a relationship with some Mudheap?"

"Mittapheap," Jason corrected him, glaring furiously; this brat had touched his Princess? Fuck, Jason should break his fucking legs for laying a finger on his daughter. In their own fucking home too!

"Look, nothing else happened," Teddy back peddled, though Taylor didn't believe him at all, "I'm just saying that she should have been more honest about the fact she was in a relationship."

"Look, You're both adults. I don't care," Taylor lied, desperate to swap the topic, "I'm gonna have to leave you for five minutes. Think you can keep out of trouble long enough?"

"Where are you going?" Teddy demanded, Jason able to see his eyes wide with panic.

There was no reason to panic, however, "To shit. Believe it or not, I do go to the bathroom as well as require decent sleep and water." Jason mumbled, "Keep out of trouble."

He left Teddy with some money for a refill on his pancakes before he headed into the Head, taking up a stall close to the door in case he needed to make a run for it. He shocked himself by how glad he felt being able to take a shit in complete privacy; he'd previously resigned himself to losing all form of personal space with Teddy around. Yeah, first thing in the morning had been an experience, both of them trying to ignore the other shifting his morning wood around, but other than that they'd actually be very lucky in terms of maintaining boundaries.

He took his time and washed his hands thoroughly, washing his face and neck next then drying them on some paper towels before exiting the bathroom.

No gun shots.

No screaming.

Teddy hadn't fucked up and gotten himself kidnapped which was an added bonus.

However, Teddy was no longer sat at their booth. Instead he'd noticed the piano and was playing the most perfect rendition of Comptine d'Un Autre Été, one of Jason's favourite scores of music. Teddy played it perfectly, by heart, just like he'd learned to play for Jason's birthday as one of those gifts youngsters with no money gave adults. Teddy had learnt it especially for Jason a few weeks before the Accident destroyed their friendship. It was truly beautiful to watch Teddy create art with the unused piano…

…The only problem was that it was apparently not just Jason's favourite piece of music but also that of a ten-tourist strong circle formed around Theodore, all of which were recording him playing on their mobiles, the crowd growing as the playing got a little lounder.

Jason went to shut him up when someone suddenly yelled within the crowd, "Oh my god, that's Teddy Grey! I can't believe Teddy Grey is here! OMG Please can I get a selfie?!"

Fuck.

They'd been recognised.

.

.

 **Afternoon,**

 **Swedish Emergency Room,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington State.**

.

Ana was fixing her hair in the mirror, fluffing it up as best she could, when Luke Sawyer walked casually into the ladies bathroom.

It was the ladies, right?

She jumped and turned around, staring the room down to be sure that she hadn't accidently walked into the men's room. But nope, there were no urinals, no traces of male anything. In fact, Ana recognised a tampon machine in the far corner of the bathroom; this was definitely female.

Luke was in the wrong.

"Sorry, Luke, this is the ladies," she said, sure of herself then as she smiled, "I think the men's room was down the hall."

"I know it's the ladies," Luke nodded, "I just wanted to let you know that Reynolds and Welch agree that I should take you and Gail to get some clothes for the long journey ahead of us."

"A long journey?" Ana echoed.

"To the Safe House in mind, Ana," Luke nodded, smiling at her, "I'll be waiting outside in my car with Gail. Please don't be too long?"

"I wont," Ana promised, "I'll be right out, Luke."

"Thanks, Ana."

 **.**

 **A/N; dun dun dun will Luke really betray Ana? Will Gail own up to her failing health? Will Teddy's location be discovered and made viral? Will Taylor be able to make it through one of my stories without being mortally wounded?**

 **There is a reason for Jason's flashbacks, as well as Teddy's.**

 **Hope everyone's enjoying this story! Thank you so much for all your lovely words and kindness!**

 **Deck x**

 **P.S...happy birthday to me**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the late update! Life's been hectic but it's calmed down for a few weeks at least :)**

 **Enjoy!**

 **D x**

 **.**

 **Chapter eleven**

 **.**

 **Eleven years ago…**

 **Bellevue Christian School,**

 **Clyde Hill,  
Bellevue,**

 **Washington,**

 **.**

"You're an amazing drawer," Stephen said firmly, looking over Teddy's shoulder, "That's beautiful…where is it though?"

"That's my garden," Teddy explained, shifting closer at his desk to show his best friend his picture a little better. The teacher was busy looking over Agnes McWalter's English work.

Today they were doing imaginative stories…but Teddy hated writing. He couldn't really read all that good so Stephen usually did his work for him as long as Teddy did Stephen's maths. The last time Teddy had tried to do imaginative writing the teacher had coloured his work in with red pen.

He'd written a story which he'd thought the teacher would have loved. It was about a businessman and his soldier bodyguard and then there was aliens who were going to come and steal his daddy-um, no, the businessman. They would steal the businessman and the soldier and together they would take over the ship and fight the alien mothership and get home just in time for Gail's Macaroni and cheese because the businessman loves macaroni and cheese.

And then they all sung the song Gail liked to sing to the Sailor-um, the soldier, and the businessman played it on his big piano with mommy. What was that song again? The one that that guy who died on the toilet sung. Um, what was his name? Frank Sinatra? No, not him.

Damn, Gail used to sing it all the time to Teddy when he was little. And she sung it to Taylor too. And he'd sing it back to her when he didn't think anyone could see.

' _Take my hand, take my whole life too. For I can't help, falling in love with you._ '

Michael Jackson? Yeah, Teddy thought, Michael Jackson sung it.

"Teddy?" Stephen asked, waving his hand in front of Teddy's face, "You were daydreaming again."

"Oh, I was just thinkin' about that story I wrote with the aliens," Teddy sighed, "The teacher said it was really bad."

"I'll write you a better one tonight," Stephen nodded, pointing at the picture, "Is that where Gail and Taylor live?"

"Yup," Teddy smiled, "That's the Taylor's house and that's the old tree in the garden."

"The Fairy Tree?" Stephen asked with that friendly smile. Phoebe was so stupid and believed that there were fairies who lived in the tree. Teddy had told her it was fake and that Fairies did exist but then she'd found a 'magic ring' there hanging in the tree with a note on it;

' _Thank you for keeping us safe, Phoebe,_

 _The Fairy King'_

She didn't understand that it was in dad's handwriting. Because she was stupid. Stephen, however, encouraged Phoebe's stupidity and played along too. He even played fairy hunter with Phoebe instead of football with Teddy himself.

"Yes, the fairy tree," Teddy sighed.

"I wish we had a tree in our garden. I'd have a treehouse and live there," Stephen grinned, taking his pencil and drawing a squint house on Teddy's picture, "Like that!"

"Hey!" Teddy huffed, shoving Stephen, "That's my picture!"

"I'm only making it better," Stephen huffed, "It's cool, right?"

"No it's not. I'm not allowed a tree house 'cause it's a dangerous tree," Teddy growled, "Mommy says. And now you ruined my picture," he glared.

"Sorry," Stephen mumbled, going back to his own English story and trying to make the corrections to his writing.

Teddy glared at his best friend and then looked back at the words the teacher had written on his own story. They were squiggly and jumbled and they made no sense. He cursed under his breath and crumbled it up, hiding it in his desk drawer.

He then looked over at Stephen, "Sorry I pushed you."

Stephen smiled and shook his head, "You've got a bad temper," Stephen pointed out…and then handed Teddy a sheet of paper with a story on it, "There. Give that to the teacher."

Teddy grinned big. Stephen wrote with his left hand so that the teacher didn't notice Teddy's handwriting was different and he even made little mistakes just to give the teacher a little something to work with.

In exchange, Teddy would do Stephen's maths homework at lunch time.

"Thanks, Stephen," Teddy nodded, pushing his chair out and walking down towards the teacher's desk, a skip in his step.

Teddy 1 – Teacher 0.

.

.

 **Date; unknown.**

 **Location; unknown.**

.

"Where are my girls?" Danni yelled for the hundredth time.

She was in a very dark and damp room, a persistent drip of a tap the only thing she could hear echoing around her. Occasionally she could just hear muted conversations coming from behind the door but she couldn't hear what they were saying which sucked, royally. There was a foul smell in the air, however.

It smelt like rancid raw meat that had been left out of the fridge. Luke had a terrible habit of leaving bacon out on their counter and it would reek after a day at room temperature. It made her wonder if she was in one of the city's many abattoirs…or perhaps she was close to some chicken factory outside of the country. She'd honestly no idea of her location and the disorientation was making her feel incredibly sick and uneasy.

"Hello?" she shouted out again, her heart in her mouth as she thought about her daughters in the hands of those monsters.

Isla was only a baby still…

Watching that pervert stroking Isla's cheek and subtly hinting to her what his intentions were if she didn't give them the information which they demanded. They'd told her they were looking for a two men who'd been seen getting into her husband's Subaru impresa, the license plate S4WYR69'.

The youngest man, Slick, had pulled out a wad of CCTV images and thrown them in Danni's face;

' _Who are these men?'_

' _That's the son of Christian Grey; Theodore Grey. Give me my baby ba-'_

' _And who is this man? Give me details or Eden's giving my mate Bert the Perv a blowie in the backroom.'_

' _Sergeant Jason Alexander Taylor. Marine corps. He's head of Christian Grey's security. Please, I'll do whatever you want. Just leave my babies alon-'_

' _Where would Taylor take Grey?'_

' _I don't know. I don't. I only know what security procedures my husband has in place.'_

' _And who is your husband?'_

Danni was still reeling from the beating she'd received for her answer. Apparently it had been cheeky and inappropriate given the situation. Slick had punched her face repeatedly and Danni still tasted blood. She was pretty sure they'd broken her ribs too as one of Slick's henchmen, a real beast of a man, kicked her chair back and whacked her in the ribs with a heavy boot.

But as much as their blows hurt, as painful as it was to hear that ugly 'Bert the Perv' tell her what atrocities he intended to commit on her eleven year old and seven year old, she knew she'd rattled them all with what she'd said because she'd meant every single word. And that pleased her to know they were shitting themselves with the enormity of what they'd done and the repercussions which would befall their families if any harm was done to Danni or Eddie and Isla.

' _My husband is Luke Nathan Sawyer, formerly with SEAL team one, and he will be your worst nightmare if you harm our daughters. If you lay a single finger on them, if you so much as caress their hair or sniff them, he will find you. And the thing with SEALs is that they're relentless. He will not stop. He will find you. He will follow you. And when you go home at night to your wife and family he will be there, in the shadows watching you. And when you think you're safe and that he's not there, that's when he'll strike like a cobra. He'll grab you from behind and he will slit your throat and you will bleed out and you better hope he doesn't decide to take revenge for his daughters out on your kids because he will not hesitate to kill them too._ '

.

.

 **Meanwhile…**

 **12thJune,**

 **Evening,**

 **Swedish Emergency Room,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington State.**

.

"Mr Grey,"

Christian stopped and looked up towards an exhausted looking Reynolds who was approaching both Christian and Phoebe with a small but genuine smile. Together, Phoebe and Ana had been sat on Ryan's bedside, keeping the wounded bodyguard company whilst Reynolds and Welch collectively organised their next move and played the media field. Usually, these sorts of things were Jason's call; he was very good at dancing between crowds of paparazzi and ushering them away for the family's protection. Christian was pleasantly surprised when it had been Reynolds, and not Luke, who'd been playing messenger boy between the FBI investigation team, the media who were circled around the hospital as well as the family home, and also kept Christian and Ana in the loop.

They were still no further in locating Teddy or Jason. The Yukon was a big place, and it was densely wooded and mountainous off the track. Christian had gone with Jason there multiple times for the more advanced hiking routes and trails. Maybe they were heading to the Yukon? Maybe that was just another clue which Jason had left in the hopes that someone would understand his fucking madness.

And he was fucking mad, Christian was completely sure of that. Who else would take Teddy away from his family, the safety of the police force, and drag him to some unknown location?

 _Jason Fucking Taylor would._

But then perhaps Jason was right not to trust the police?

Christian looked down at Ryan and examined the hole in the guy's neck where Reynolds had had to create an opening in his windpipe to just be able to breathe. The incident had happened all but a few hours after Reynold had made a formal statement to the SPD on the Greys behalf, offering them a copy of the video Teddy had taken of this Slick guy and his henchmen.

Ryan had taken a sniper bullet for Christian; an attack which was absolutely one hundred percent in retaliation to the police statement being made. How else would they have positively known it was a Grey who'd witnessed the shooting and not some other drunken teen?

God, they'd been trapped in the safety of this hospital for days now, Christian's mind was becoming mushed with every minute he thought about his troublesome son.

"Hey, Reynolds," Phoebe smiled at the bald guard, putting down her hot chocolate and letting go of Ryan's hand. She was so good with these men, Christian thought; a naturally kind and caring woman. It was most definitely a result of her mother's genetics and watching Gail. God, Christian still remembered how much Ana had liked Taylor when they'd first started dating. Had Christian not walked in on Taylor and Gail in their own apartment, Christian would have believed his CPO's affection towards Ana was more sinister in intention. The reality was that Taylor, Reynolds, Sawyer and Ryan all loved Ana, treating her like a little sister.

After what happened with Stephen, however, Ana had become a shell of herself. It was understandable; how would a mother ever get over something that fucking horrific? Slowly, Christian was seeing remnants of the old Ana shine through day by day with the love and support of himself, their household and their family. She'd taken up writing which was where the largest difference was to be seen, Christian thought.

"Hey, Phoebe," Reynolds said and expanded that small smile as he took a pew in the seats across from them, on Ryan's other side, "I just wanted to say how proud I was earlier, Phoebe," Reynolds started, "You shouldn't have made a run for that knife, Taylor will behead me if he thought I'd asked his special Little Grey to get me something when there was a potential sniper, but you saved Ryan's life."

"Oh it was nothing," Phoebe waved it away, "Mom froze and Ryan couldn't breathe; there wasn't much time and I was closest to the cutlery drawer."

"You'll make a fantastic career for yourself in the Navy," Reynolds nodded, "Rumour has it that you're looking to sign up in a few years?"

"Maybe. Taylor's been helping me train," Phoebe admitted, "Mom still doesn't know."

"And she wont here from me," Reynolds promised with a wink before staring at Christian himself, "Mr Grey; we're ready to move you, Mrs Grey, Phoebe and Gail to the Safe House now," he nodded, "We've got seven knew men on our payroll for the time being too. One of them's went to get the Taylor's bulldog."

"Damn, I forgot about Lesley," Christian admitted, scratching his cheek. They plan had been to go to Escala then return to the house on the Sound but shit hit the fan and they'd been stuck in the hospital for two days, flanked on either side by the media.

 _Poor Lesley._

"Lesley's alright; the Estate groundskeeper was keeping an eye on him for us," Reynolds nodded, "But yes; we'd like to think about moving you all on to the Emergency Safe House."

 _Ahhh…the Emergency Safe House._

Christian had suspected that that was where Taylor would have him and his family go in the event that lives were at stake. The house on the Sound was just too out of the way and it was public knowledge that the Grey Estate was out there. Heck, Ana encouraged the local inner city schools to come out to the Estate for school trips to see the family's farm animals; three horses, two pigs, a few sheep and a ridiculous amount of chickens. There was talk of getting a donkey in the future but Christian just didn't understand why there was any need. Their animals were all cared for by the grounds keeping staff as well as Ana.

Taylor had requested, seven years ago, that they build a 'Panic room' house nearer Seattle for occasions where the immediate family required a total lock down. He called it the Emergency Safe House, a work of art really which had cost Christian three million dollars to create.

It was a two storey home with an underground garage and several emergency exits which were only usable from within the family home. It was enforced with heavy steel, security cameras at every angle and powered by four different generators in case of emergencies.

'Zombie proof', Ryan had called it and at the time, Christian had laughed the comment off. Then he and Ana had started to watch The Walking Dead, under the Taylors recommendations coincidently. Now, Christian understood why Jason had created a weapons room within the Emergency Safe House, and why there were so many baseball bats; Jason fucking Taylor had built a home which was not only 100% secure in the event of the traditional issues but he'd also built an apocalypse proof den.

"Has Craig and Mei make it to your Safe House?" Christian asked, getting up to pour Reynolds a cup of instant hot chocolate from the chocolate powder and hot water a nurse had left for Ryan's visitors. He knew the security staff all had their own safe places for their families in situations like this because Gail was almost always with the Greys whenever Jason walked through the 'worst case scenario lockdown' techniques.

"Yes, Sir," Reynolds nodded, "I've been in contact with them. Mei is a little upset that I missed the rest of her recital though."

Christian smiled, imagining little Mei Reynolds looking angery. She was a gorgeous little lamb, adopted by the gay couple from an orphanage in China. Although she was eleven, she was sassy and quirky and knew exactly how to get her dads to do whatever she wanted.

"I'm glad, Reynolds," Christian nodded, handing the tired bald guard his hot chocolate, "Sorry it's not coffee."

"Thank you all the same, Mr Grey," Reynolds smiled and sipped, "We've heard from Nora too. She wants to come back from Tokyo to be here for Ryan but Welch and I convinced her to stay put; it's too dangerous and Ryan's going to be under a lot of security here; we're not letting anyone other than the FBI agents enter this room and they can only do so as long as there are members of our own private security present."

"Perfect," Christian nodded, thinking of the chunky, chirpy girlfriend to their adorable boy scout, Ryan, "What about Danni, Eddie and Isla?"

"We're yet to hear from them," Reynolds admitted, "However, Luke's safe place could be back in his home State, Virginia, for all I know. He's not worried that she's not made contact yet so I'm trusting his judgement there. We'll get Mrs Taylor, Mrs and Miss Grey secured and then we'll help Welch resume the search for Jason." Reynolds said firmly.

"Can't we just call Trevor?" Christian frowned, thinking of Jason's brother, "I thought you said his brother has property out there in the Yukon?"

"He's OCONUS, sir," Reynolds explained, "He's active airforce. We've tried a few times but we can't get through to him."

"What about his wife?" Christian pressed, remembering meeting Maggie at the Taylor's wedding decades ago.

"Died of cancer three years ago," Reynolds shrugged, bursting that bubble, "She'd been diagnosed with cancer three times before they decided that it was just going to keep coming back."

"Shit," Christian sighed, shaking his head.

"You'll find Jason's brother though, yes? And we can get back to finding my son?" Christian stressed.

"Of course, Sir," Reynolds nodded, "I just want to be sure everyone gets to a safe house before we begin to further snoop in the mob's business."

Christian nodded, understanding how each of the men had favoured to keep their safe places off any form of paper work to maintain their secrecy and privacy.

"Daddy, is Taylor going to be okay?" Phoebe asked worriedly.

Figured she'd be more concerned for her beloved Tay than she would be for her tearaway brother. Neither Phoebe or Teddy got on all that well, even from birth they just didn't seem to click like Elliot's brood had. Teddy was every bit Christian's son with Ana's stubbornness, Christian's short fuse temper, his father's cunning and impulsiveness but his mother's social angst. Phoebe was calm and mindful, with Christian's confidence and Ana's determination, incredibly organised and a lover of control and stability.

Two polar opposite kids who could argue over oxygen.

"Taylor's going to be fine; Teddy's keeping him safe," Christian said, giving Phoebe a look to remind her that Teddy was in just as much danger and that she should be mindful that both he and Ana were incredibly worried for their son.

"Sorry, Dad," Phoebe nodded, "I miss Teddy too but I'm so mad that he's gotten us all in this situation; if he just behaved for once in his life then Ryan wouldn't have a gunshot wound. I'm so angry at him."

"I'm mad too," Christian admitted, "But there's a time for anger, Phoebe. And right now is not that time. We've got to keep praying Teddy and Taylor are safe; anger and negative thoughts wont help anyone, okay?"

"Okay, dad," Phoebe sighed then looked up when Reynolds phone vibrated.

He answered after swallowing a mouthful of burning hot chocolate, "Reynolds. Welch, hi. No? I never instructed Sawyer to leave his post. What do you mean-" he froze and Christian knew something was wrong.

It was in the way that the colour drained from Reynolds face, how a realisation dawned upon him which made him feel so physically sick, he was the colour of ash.

"Sawyer was watching them both, Welch. Pull up the security cameras. Find out where the hell he's gone. I want him found in five minutes," Reynolds growled, standing up and rubbing his tired eyes, "I have The Eagle with me and chick two," Reynolds went on to say, Christian aware that The Eagle was his codename and the children were labelled chicks for security purposes over the phone.

"What's going on?" Christian demanded the minute Reynolds hung up the phone.

"Sir, it's going to be okay," Reynolds started, "But we can't find Sawyer. Welch and his team are pulling up all the hospital CCTV footage to find him fast. Don't worry."

"Where's Ana and Gail?" Christian demanded, "Weren't they-"

"With Sawyer Sir? Yes," Reynolds admitted, and Christian felt his stomach drop.

.

.

 **An hour earlier,**

 **The carpark of the Swedish Emergency Room,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington State.**

.

"Isn't Christian or Phoebe coming with us?" Ana asked her CPO as they walked towards one of the unmarked cars Welch had provided the family's security whilst they stayed put at the hospital. They had sourced out several of these cars and also a lot of extra security bodies just until plans for their safe delivery to the Safe House were made. Reynolds had promised they'd be on the move soon but she was itching to move now. However she would not be leaving without her only other child, let alone without her husband.

"He's got to stay with Reynolds a little longer. It's safer for Phoebe to stay with him right now," Luke said vaguely, ushering her and Gail towards the Ford, "They'll meet us there. We'll move you individually. Reduce the target size."

What the Hell?

Ana looked across at Gail and saw the older woman was just as sceptical. If they were reducing the target size by moving them individually, Ana would have assumed there would at least be another CPO, even if it wasn't Reynolds. Maybe a few of the new guards Welch had sourced them, to come for the ride with Luke.

This just didn't seem right to Ana, and she most certainly was not leaving her husband's side after an attempt had been made on his life.

"What?" Ana called, voicing her concerns with a frown as she stopped walking towards the car, "No, Luke. I'm not leaving until Christian does. And my daughter. She's got to come to the safe house with us. I want Phoebe to be the priority; get my baby to safety first and then my husband and I. If I can't keep Teddy safe, I can keep Phoebe safe."

With that, Ana spun on her trainers and began to walk back towards the Hospital.

"Mrs Grey," Luke called in a voice which was not his own. No, this voice, this Luke, was not the man she'd had by her side for almost two decades. He sounded off…unrestrained. It unnerved Ana enough for her to stop walking, "It is imperative that you come with me right now," Luke stressed, "Get in the car."

"Luke?" Gail chirped now, sensing what Ana sensed; something was seriously off with him, "Are you okay?"

"I'm just peachy, Gail," Luke snapped at her which was when Ana's fears were confirmed; there was a problem here and that Luke was breaking protocol because Ana knew for a fact that none of the men would dare snap like that to Gail Taylor. Not for fear that Jason would discipline them. Oh no. The men feared Gail more than they did Jason. She was their matriarchal leader, after all.

"With all due respect, Luke, I'm calling Reynolds right this very second to see what's going on," Ana said as she turned to him again. She dropped her gaze and reached into her purse pocket for her Iphone, intending on calling either Reynolds or her husband to be sure that Luke was acting under instruction and not on his own orders.

When she looked up, phone to her ear, Ana found herself staring down the barrel of Luke's sidearm.

He was holding his gun to her forehead.

The gun he'd sworn to use to protect her life.

"I can't let you do that, Mrs Grey," Luke hissed, taking the phone and hanging up before she'd had the chance to connect with Reynolds, "I need you and Mrs Taylor to get into that Ford parked by the wall. Right now," he insisted, his blue-green eyes wired as he stared her down, "Now."

Ana looked at Gail who had risen her hands up above her head the moment she'd seen the gun. The little woman turned and slowly walked round the car, climbing into the back wordlessly. Ana shook her head and stared at Luke pleadingly before copying Gail and closing the door behind her. Before Ana had a chance to press the lock on the dashboard, Luke had climbed in.

He'd ran round to the driver's side, closed the heavy door behind him then turned the ignition and drove like a bat out of hell out of the parking lot, pulling his mobile phone out and placing it on the front passenger seat within his grasp.

"Luke, what's going on?" Gail said calmly, trying to appeal to the man's rational side. Ana didn't know how Gail could manage to remain so in control, her voice barely wobbling. Ana herself was overwhelmed with memories of Jack Hyde's attempted kidnapping that she was barely able to speak let alone talk Luke out of whatever he was doing.

At first, Luke didn't answer Gail and just focused on the road, completely in the zone. Gail continued, leaning forward towards him more; "Whatever's the matter, we can fix it. You just need to let us know how to help you."

"You can't help. No one's allowed to help," Luke growled and Ana could see that he was shaking under his suit, knuckles white as he squeezed the life out of the steering wheel, "Just shut up, Gail. Let me think."

"A problem shared is a problem halved," Gail pressed, despite the deadly glow in Luke's eyes, "Let us in and we can help you."

"They have the girls," Luke finally choked, his voice wobbling as he focused on the road ahead, "fuck, Gail, they have my girls. Danni, Eddie, Isla. I met the sniper on the roof; he showed me the photo of their 'hostages' and, God Gail, they are going to kill them if I don't take you and Ana to them. I don't know what to do; I don't know. They'll kill them if I involve the cops and they've got the cops on their books too."

"Luke, it's going to be okay," Gail promised, leaning over and squeezing his shoulder, "pull over here. We need to talk this through. Let me help you think because you're too involved to think about this yourself."

Again, Luke was silent.

And, again, Gail persisted like some sort of federal negotiator, "Luke, please, give me a moment to help you think this through and formulate a plan before you do something despicable to Ana and I; you owe Jason that much to let me, his _wife_ , help you. If you won't stop the car for me and Ana, do it for him. Five minutes."

Clever woman, Ana thought, seeing how the mention of Luke's best friend, his brother, his soulmate, appeared to be the straw which broke the camel's back.

He pulled over outside a Starbucks and turned off the car, his head falling down against the steering wheel as he took in a deep and shaking breath, fear gripping him. Ana couldn't imagine how terrifying it must be for him to know his daughters were captured and being tortured and he couldn't save them like he wanted to do.

"I can't do this," Luke growled, slamming his fists on the dashboard, "Gail, what the fuck do I do? They'll rape my daughters if I don't take you to the drop off point by midnight tonight. I have two hours."

"You need to tell Welch, Luke," Ana said now, finding her voice. She loved Luke dearly, he was her bestfriend besides Christian and so it was painful for her to see her friend so distraught, the image of anyone harming the Sawyer girls made her sick to her stomach.

 _Teddy, how could you let this happen?_

This wasn't the first time Ana had thought about her much her son had let her down, the consequences of his actions always destroying the ones he loved. Ana was only just recovering from the mental trauma of his last fuck up; now this?

 _And poor Taylor being dragged into it._

 _And Luke, Danni, Eden and Isla._

 _And Ryan._

 _And their families._

Ana sat forward and squeezed his other shoulder, "We can do this, Luke."

"I'm so sorry, Ana. Gail. I'm so sorry," Luke groaned, "I don't know what I was thinking. It's just…they're my girls. I'm desperate. They told me to bring you and Gail to Discovery Park and they'd give me back my girls."

Ana gulped, imagining being dragged out to the coast of the Sound and offered to the Esposito family like hunks of meat to dogs. She doubted they'd give Luke the girls, she was sure Luke knew that himself, but the father wasn't thinking about his own life. She was certain Luke was prepared to be gunned down if it meant the chance that his girls would walk away free.

"I don't know what to do," Luke growled, "I'm going to kill those fucking bastards. That's all I know. I'm going to get Danni. Get the girls and I don't care if I have to walk in wearing a C4 jacket; I'm taking them all with me."

"Take me," Gail said softly.

Ana's head snapped back to look at Gail.

Was she fucking crazy?!

Luke was in as much shock, facing both women for the first time, his eyes red from tears.

"Take me, Luke. Leave Ana," Gail whispered now, "I'm worth more than Ana to them. Drop Ana off at the nearest payphone and take me."

"Gail, you can't-" Luke started.

"If Ana can get in touch with Welch, explain what's happening, then they'll be able to send in the cavalry and hopefully they'll get there on time," Gail continued, ignoring Luke.

"And if they don't and the Esposito mobsters grab you and shoot Luke?!" Ana exclaimed, "You'll be tortured and murdered Gail. They'll kill you."

"Then I'll have died for my goddaughters lives," Gail snapped, staring at Luke, "It can't be Ana; it has to be me. I'm worth more and Ana has her whole life ahead of her. I don't."

"What are you talking about?" Ana frowned.

Gail's eyes never left Luke's as she stared at her husband's best friend; his best man, his soulmate, his partner in crime, his bad influence, his confidant and his most loyal and supportive friend.

She took a deep breath.

"I have a brain tumour, Luke," Gail said calmly, "Take me and leave Ana."

.

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **Driving in silence because Taylor's a childish prick,**

 **In the middle of fucking nowhere,**

 **Heading to fucking somewhere,**

 **Fuck knows.**

.

.

"I'm sorry, Taylor."

"It's fine."

Teddy could tell that it wasn't fine. He hadn't said it, or anything for that matter, since he grabbed Teddy's arm and yanked him out of the diner but Teddy could see the steam coming from Taylor's ears.

Teddy hadn't expected to draw in attention just by playing a public piano which had a clear sign on it saying ' _Play Me if you're good enough- no kids please_ '. Whenever Teddy was stressed and scared he turned to music and in that moment, while Taylor was taking a shit, Teddy had begun to panic. He'd been anxious enough that he'd considered going to the bathroom himself just to be closer to Taylor again but, fuck that for a fucking laugh.

Instead, Teddy had turned to the piano to help calm his nerves and organise his thoughts.

Who the fuck was he supposed to know he'd be fucking identified and recorded?

Teddy was a very popular guy, with 10 million followers on twitter alone; he was a celebrity in Seattle. He'd just not appreciated his own celebrity status in this dinky town, likewise he didn't realise that he was famous even when he wasn't in a club or bar.

It had been a complete accident. And even though Taylor had tried to get everyone with a recording to delete the video, it had still gone viral. They'd found that out when Taylor had paid to use the WIFI in a hotel. They'd also confirmed that Ryan was the one who'd been shot in the throat. And they'd watched Dad's press conference.

It had hurt Teddy more than he'd expected to see his father soldiering through the media's questions. Taylor had been impassive which had pissed Teddy off a little.

"If you're positive," Teddy sighed, scratching his stubbly jaw, "I really didn't mean to get noticed like that."

"Shit happens."

 _Ooooooookay then_ , Teddy thought.

Maybe he and Taylor weren't going to be on speaking terms tonight. Not that it bothered Teddy much. Taylor was a prick, after all. Sure he'd bought Teddy the smokes he'd been desperately craving, but he was also dragging him to some random ass place without even telling him.

"Well I am sorry for that," Teddy shrugged, stretching his back as he watched the long road ahead of them. It was incredibly late and since their hurried exit, they'd been driving non-stop for six hours straight. Teddy had literally no idea where he was so they could have another day solid to drive…...or a week…...or a month.

Taylor was adamant that they needed to drive randomly and sporadically in case, by some miracle, they had a tail. Otherwise they would just lead the Esposito family to their very front door. Teddy was starting to notice that they were heading into thicker brush. For the last hour they'd been driving on a country route through a forest, the road windy and made Teddy feel a little sicky if he was being honest.

"I need a pee," Teddy announced, glad when Taylor grunted and then pulled over about two seconds later. He grunted once more and then opened his side of the car, scanned the area then walked over to the grassy verge himself.

Maybe he hadn't stopped for Teddy after all, Teddy realised as Taylor assumed the stance and answered the call of nature himself. Teddy took up pew beside him, spreading his legs a little and untucking himself.

Still, Taylor said nothing.

Teddy didn't know why it annoyed him that Taylor wasn't speaking. He hated how much he cared; was Taylor honestly that pissed off? Hadn't they been getting on? Like back before It happened.

It.

Thinking about It made Teddy feel sick, his temper flaring.

"Are you just going to ignore me then?" Teddy snapped, not honestly sure why he felt the need to snap at the silent bear beside him, taking a piss, "Fucking child."

"Whatever."

"I fucked your daughter," Teddy pressed and saw the man's jaw twitch. He closed his eyes, shook his own dick and then tucked himself back into the jeans he'd bought himself from a thrift shop this morning.

Still he didn't say anything and that further irritated Teddy to the point that he was sweating with anger. This man had failed him, had ruined Teddy's life. He was supposed to be the bravest man in the world; the man who protected his father.

But Taylor couldn't save Teddy's best friend.

He'd failed.

The bastard failed to do his fucking job and it had ruined Teddy's life.

"Fucked her twice. In your house too," Teddy pressed, tucking himself away, "Got cum on your bedsheets."

Taylor took a deep breath, clasping his hands and doing some sort of Thai Chi meditation shit to keep himself in check. "She's an adult. If she wants to make mistakes, she can,"

 _Mistake._

Who the fuck was he to talk about mistakes?

Still, Taylor said nothing as he turned to head back to that shitty piece of ass that they'd been driving around in. It was ugly, just like Taylor. A perfect car for him really, Teddy thought as he followed him towards the car.

"Do you even know where we're going?" Teddy huffed then, "I think you've forgotten and that's why we're driving around all across the country."

"I've not forgotten," Taylor retorted, unlocking the car for them both, "My memory's perfect. Unlike your manners."

"Oh that's good that your memory's working since Gail's isn't," Teddy mumbled under his breath then paused, seeing Jason freeze up with his hand on the door handle.

 _Ah…Gail._

 _Gotcha._

Teddy smirked, "She probably forgot to tell the other guards your clues," he pressed, "She's probably in La-la-land right now, cooking spaghetti sauces while we're-"

A fist smashed Teddy so hard in the jaw that he fell clean off his feet and fell back against the piss soaked verge.

The pain was a relief to the young man and he welcomed the darkness as he blacked out…

.

.

 **A life time ago…..**

 **San Diego Naval base,**

 **California,**

.

Jason was proud of himself.

Stood in his graduation uniform, staring dead in front, he dared not move the muscles in his face but he was internally grinning like an idiot.

He'd done it; he'd escaped Texas.

He'd escaped his grandfather's abuse and he'd become a man.

He spotted them in seconds, recognising Calvin's afro, Elizabeth's gorgeous body and Mary's kind, warm smile.

His family.

Trevor hadn't been able to make it because he was in the Airforce and on active duty which sucked but Jason understood completely. Jennilyn had refused to come when she'd found out her big brother had invited 'the Blacks'. Their grandfather had raised Jenni in his church and preached to her a hatred which Jason had rebelled against. She was now talking about joining the Klan which disgust him further.

Mary and Walt and Calvin and Calvin's own sister's Elizabeth had adopted Jason into their home and into their hearts. Although his own biological mother was very much alive, Jason considered Mary his mother.

She'd fed him when Grandpa had starved him.

She'd cleaned up his bruises when he'd been beaten.

She'd corrected his homework and had him get a tutor for English with Calvin and Elizabeth.

She'd dressed him and taught him of a god who saw equality, not the god who grandpa preached to them about in his church.

She'd washed and bathed him like he was her own son, even cutting his gingery hair when it got too long and matted.

She'd scoop him up into her arms and hold his small body against her chest and reassured him that he would be okay, that he was her son, that he was safe with her.

And Calvin had taken him in as a brother who understood that Jason was fragile, that the abuse he suffered in his own childhood home made him sheepish and nervous. When they played, Jason could be selfish but Calvin would remind him that it was okay to borrow his toys if he wanted, so as long as he got them back when he was done.

They'd all accepted Trevor too, Mary always packing Calvin's lunch with two extra sandwiches for the neglected Taylor boys.

Bananas on bread was still Taylor's favourite snack and now he was a man, a Marine, prepared to serve his country and the people he loved; Trevor, Calvin, Mary, Elizabeth and Walter.

Dad would be proud of him, Jason was sure, wiping his eyes as he was finally able to approach his family for photos. Dad would be proud of how both he and Trevor had managed to make men of themselves without him to guide them and with a mother who was so depressed that she'd allowed her father to abuse her boys.

"My child," Mary exclaimed, kissing Jason's cheek as she stood on her toes, "I knew you could do it, Mr Taylor!"

"Well done, dude," Cal nodded, grabbing Jason the moment Mary let him go long enough to get his own embrace, "Proud of you, brother."

"Thanks, Cal," Jason grinned, adjusting his hat, "How's law school? Still enjoying Canada?"

"Law school is boring and Canada's colder than the tundra. How's the army?" Calvin laughed.

"Amazing. Sure you don't want to enlist?" Jason smirked, "The ladies dig the uniform."

"Mr Taylor, I raised you better than to use your uniform for women," Mary scoffed, but her eyes were brimming with tears of pride.

Elizabeth then embraced him tightly, kissing his cheek, "I'm so proud of you, Jason!"

"Thanks Beth," Taylor blushed, wincing when Calvin punched him.

"Walter wants a photo of our children," Mary said firmly, "Shift in together, Jason you in the middle since you're tallest."

Jason laughed, grinning with pride as Calvin wrapped his arm around his shoulder, Beth hooking hers behind his waist.

"Guys, nice faces!" Mary scoffed, pointing the disposable camera at them all, "I mean it. Calvin, I told you nice faces."

"I'm smiling, mom!" Calvin huffed.

"Well stop smiling like that and smile better!" Mary grumbled, making Jason and Beth laugh.

God, Jason was on top of the world with his sister and his second brother flanking him on either side.

.

 **Would love to know people's thoughts so do pop me a message or a review :)**

 **Hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading this far!**

 **You guys are honestly the biggest motivators ever. Thanks so much!**

 **Deck x**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N Shorter chapter tonight because I'm going to post the second half of this (Gail and co) tomorrow hopefully! Hopefully being the word. I'm almost done an update with Moments of Pleasure too, making up for the two week absence earlier haha.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **D x**

 **.**

 **Chapter twelve.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Eleven years ago…**

 **Grey Mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington,**

Gail smiled down at Teddy, running a damp cloth over his floury hands and cheeks, "Oh Mr Grey," she chuckled, rubbing his copper coloured fringe, "How did you get flour in your hair?"

Teddy grinned big as he looked up at his housekeeper, the second most important woman in his life. More important than Phoebe. She sucked.

"I was being a ghost," Teddy giggled, loving when he and Stephen got to bake with this woman. Taylor called her 'Little Woman' but Teddy could think of so many different, nicer names.

 _Beautiful Woman._

 _Cosy Woman._

 _Mothering Woman._

 _Safe Woman._

"Oh Mr Grey," Gail chuckled, stroking his cheek livingly, "Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can't help falling in love with you," she hummed, Teddy feeling his heart flutter, "Shall I stay? Would it be a sin if I can't help falling in love with you?"

"Gail," Teddy giggled, holding her hands to his cheeks and smiling when she made a funny face.

"Like a river flows surely to the sea, darling so it goes; some things are meant to be," Gail continued to sing, looking up when Taylor came out of the security office. He looked tired, Teddy knew he and daddy were working doubly hard which was why Gail was babysitting Teddy and Stephen whilst mommy when to see nana Carla with Phoebe and Sawyer.

"Mrs Taylor," Taylor called out, picking up the cake batter spoon and licking it before Teddy got a chance to eat it.

"Hey!" Teddy grumbled, Taylor looking down at him and sticking his tongue out playfully.

Stupid Taylor; Teddy got to lick the spoon. Always.

"Mr Taylor," Gail responded, however, standing up and kissing Taylor on the chin, "Are you hungry?"

"Starving; I'm excited for Teddy and Stephen's cakes; I'm going to eat them all," he said and winked in Teddy's direction to let Teddy know that he was kidding and would only eat Stephen's, Teddy was sure.

"You're a bad man, Mr Taylor; stealing cakes from children," Gail said with a little smirk.

"I am a bad man, Mrs Taylor; but I'm your bad man," he commented and Teddy watched him walking over to Gail at the sink and wrapping his arms around her, his tummy against her back, "Mmmm…Like a river flows surely to the sea, darling so it goes; some things are meant to be," Taylor sung, kissing her ear and then swaying with her in his arms like what Daddy did with mommy.

Like mommy, Gail smiled over her shoulder at Taylor.

"Take my hand. Take my whole life too," Taylor continued, his voice rubbish and low unlike Gail's, "For I can't help falling in love with you."

"Mr Taylor," Gail chuckled, both turning when Stephen finally came back from pooping, "There you are, mister. I thought you'd fallen in."

"No, Ma'am," Stephen said with that stupid English accent; it sounded like 'mum' when he should be saying 'ma'am', "Good afternoon, Mr Taylor."

"Good afternoon, Stephen," Taylor smiled, letting go of Gail and ruffling Stephan's short hair, "Can I get a sandwich, Gail?"

"Of course," Gail said, "Just the regular; Turkey, ham, cheese, bacon and chicken?"

"I'm feeling healthy today," Taylor mused, making both boys giggle, "Put one of those little tomato things on it too?"

"A single cherry tomato?" Gail questioned, "Are you sure? That's a little risky for you."

"You're right, like always," Taylor nodded, pouring himself a coffee, "Maybe half of a cherry tomato?"

"One Cholesterol Crumpler and a side salad of one half of a cherry tomato coming your way, Mr Taylor," Gail cooed.

"Is delivery an option? I have ten minutes to spare and I was going to go to the cottage…"

"Taylor," Teddy laughed, "You're so silly; there's no delivery to the cottage. Just eat it here. This isn't McDonalds."

"Damn, Teddy, it's a shame it's not McDonalds here," Taylor pouted, looking at Gail, "I like my food…given to me hot and fast and extra saucy."

"Right, Mr Taylor, that's enough of your brattling on," Gail snipped, shooing Taylor from her kitchen, "Enough of that; go ask Mr Grey if he wants an early dinner."

"But-"

"Go away Taylor!" Teddy laughed, loving when Taylor was in a funny mood.

"Awww, you guys…." Taylor pouted again and sulked away towards the stairs, going to Daddy's office.

"I love Taylor, Gail," Teddy clarified, "When he's not shouting."

"Taylor loves you too, Master Grey," Gail chuckled, "When you're not causing him to shout."

Stephen leant forward and picked a couple of the grapes from the fruitbowl, Teddy doing the same and giggling at his best friend.

"Right, your father wants egg mayo and salad," Gail reported to both Taylor and Stephen, looking at her mobile phone, "I have fresh eggs in the pantry. Behave for two minutes."

"Okay," both boys sung, Teddy giggling at Stephen being silly and eating his grapes like a hamster.

He burst out laughing when Stephen put five grapes in between his cheek and teeth and squished them, the juices running down his chin. Copying his friend, Teddy reached over and grabbed four himself and put them in his mouth.

"You're so gross," Teddy laughed, then gasped; the grapes falling back down his throat.

He took a breath but couldn't get the air into his lungs.

He tried coughing but it was stuck and his chest couldn't work.

Stephen looked at him worriedly, "Teddy?"

Teddy grabbed his throat, feeling his face getting red and warm as he kept trying to cough.

And cough.

But nothing was working.

He couldn't breathe; it was stuck in his throat.

Stephen jumped out of his seat and ran to Teddy, pulling him out of his own seat and wrapping his arms around Teddy's tummy.

He squeezed and it hurt.

But he did it again and then again and then again and then again.

"Mrs Taylor?" he called calmly, still continuing to squeeze Teddy tighter and tighter.

"Yes?" Gail called, hurrying through to the kitchen and gasping when she saw Teddy, "JASON!"

Just as she reached Teddy, however, Stephen squeezed him so tight that two grapes fired out of his mouth and hit the floor.

"Oh Teddy," Gail gasped, pulling Stephen away and giving him space to lie down and breathe just as Taylor's heavy footsteps bounded into the kitchen. He squished the grapes with his brogue which would have made Teddy laugh if he could breathe okay.

"What happened?" Taylor demanded.

"He choked on the grapes," Gail said, rubbing Teddy's back for him, "I was in the pantry getting the eggs."

"Right," Taylor nodded and knelt down in front of Teddy, "Don't panic, son, you're going to be okay. It's scary choking but don't get upset, okay?"

Teddy nodded; he was eight after all. But Taylor's friendly face and kind voice made him cry and Teddy reached out his hands to be held by his family's protector. Taylor pulled him up off the floor the minute Teddy asked.

"Oh me, me, me," Taylor cooed, hugging Teddy tightly in his arms, "It's okay. It's okay."

"My…tummy hurts," he whined burying his face into Taylor's neck but then he had to turn it again to keep breathing lots and lots and lots, "Stephen squeezed it."

Stephen nodded then, sitting in Gail's lap on the chair because he was upset too, "My Papa choked on his lobster and daddy did that to help him."

"You're a hero, Stephen," Gail nodded, kissing Stephen's cheek.

"Come on, Teddy, lets go see Dad," Taylor nodded, holding him, "then we'll go to the hospital to be checked."

"No, daddy…will yell…because I put four…grapes in…muh-muh-my mouth," Teddy gasped, crying hard now from his fright.

"I think Dad will just be glad Stephen was so quick to action," Taylor promised, kissing Teddy's tear soaked cheek, "It's okay, Tedster. It's okay. I won't let Daddy yell at you."

"Promise?"

"I promise; I'll protect you," Taylor laughed, knocking on the office door, "Mr Grey?..."

.

 **Present day…**

 **Midnight,**

 **An hour's drive from the Canadian-Washington boarder,**

 **Canada,**

.

 _"Do you even know where we're going?" Teddy huffed then, "I think you've forgotten and that's why we're driving around all across the country."_

 _"I've not forgotten," Taylor retorted, unlocking the car for them both, "My memory's perfect. Unlike your manners."_

 _"Oh that's good that your memory's working since Gail's isn't," Teddy mumbled under his breath then paused, seeing Jason freeze up with his hand on the door handle._

 _Ah…Gail._

 _Gotcha._

 _Teddy smirked, "She probably forgot to tell the other guards your clues," he pressed, "She's probably in La-la-land right now, cooking spaghetti sauces while we're-"_

 _A fist smashed Teddy so hard in the jaw that he fell clean off his feet and fell back against the piss soaked verge._

 _The pain was a relief to the young man and he welcomed the darkness as he blacked out…_

.

Jason's fist smacked Teddy's jaw and knocked the teen back onto the grassy verge they'd just pissed on.

"Get up," he ordered the young man and Teddy, stupidly, stood. He was a little dazed, staggering and confused, his jeans wet with the piss he'd landed in.

Slowly he lifted his arms in defeat…but Jason punched him again.

Then hooked him harder.

He fell back against a tree this time, coughing and then spitting out a trickle of blood. He seemed to regain his sense of balance as he looked up at Jason with a self-loathing smirk which reminded Jason of how his father once was. "Fuck, Taylor. That the best you've got? Thought you were a Marine?" he grinned, teeth red with his blood.

Arrogant prick.

Jason saw red and charged forward like a bull, spearing Teddy's stomach and pushing both of them through the forest and onto the floor, Jason pinning Teddy under his bodyweight, "Fucking worm," Jason snapped as he punched Teddy again, feeling the young man's own fist colliding with Jason's jaw.

Cheap, lucky, shot.

It did nothing but further aggravate Jason, his hands squeezing Teddy's throat.

Choking him.

Teddy's eyes lit with panic as he struggled, and failed, to wriggle free from Taylor's hold.

"Let…go," Teddy struggled to choke out.

"I'll fucking kill you," Jason threatened, pressing down on Teddy's windpipe more and more before gasping and losing his grip when Teddy used all his might to drive his fist right into Jason's crotch.

"Fuck!" Jason gasped, falling back and grabbing himself tightly.

Dirty fucking move.

Teddy gasped himself, rolling onto his feet and assuming the classic kickboxing position, kicking out sharply when Jason stood and hitting his head. Again, it was a lucky blow, but Jason caught Teddy's foot on the second kick and twisted it hard, causing him to lose his balance and tumble again.

The second he got his footing, however, Teddy was back at Jason and lashing out viciously, "You fucking killed him you ugly bastard!" he screamed in Jason's face, punching and kicking out, tears pouring in his eyes, "You fucking ruined my fucking life you lazy, good for nothing cunt! You let him die! You and my whore mother!"

Jason received a few lucky hits to his torso but he defended his head as he retreated from Teddy's advances before he began to reciprocate the onslaught and fight back again, his own punches doing more damage to Teddy than the young man's were doing to himself.

"I hate you!"

"I hate you too!" Jason shouted back, Teddy not the only one hurting, "You think of no one else! I should fucking kill you and get back to my wife before-"

"Before she forgets you? She's so old, her memory is horrific," Teddy sneered then gasped as Jason hooked him again, breaking Teddy's rib.

 _Before she forgets you…_

Jason felt his own eyes water momentarily but he focused his efforts on killing this little prick, grabbing Teddy's throat again and slamming him against a pine tree. He'd kill him, ditch the body somewhere and go get his wife and drive her to the hospital himself for her surgery because he was so…fucking… ** _DONE_** with this Grey shit.

Fuck Christian Grey. Fuck his family. Fuck his one son in particular.

Teddy's face was a wonderful shade of purple, Jason not even acknowledging the few kicks Teddy managed to hit him with. Nothing hurt him more than the reminder that his wife had a brain tumour and would need brain surgery.

The love of his life.

His protector.

Teddy was struggling less and less and Taylor pressed down on his windpipe, his muscles shaking in his arms.

"… _this is the car but where are they?"_

Jason froze and looked over towards where they'd parked their car, seeing a set of headlights glowing.

" _Slick says they were last seen on CCTV driving into Canada twenty minutes ago. This is their car."_

" _Then where the fuck are they?"_

Jason slackened his hold on Teddy's throat, covering his mouth instead and pulling him tight against one of the thick fir trees. At first, Teddy struggled until Jason pointed towards where the headlight was.

" _Who should I know?"_

" _They aint gettin' far without their car. Probably off shitting."_

" _Keep your guns up,"_

Jason heard them moving but couldn't see them through the thicket, just see the shadows caused by their car's headlights.

Fuck, all their stuff was in the car.

"This way," Jason whispered in Teddy's ear, slowly nudging him forwards, "When I say run, don't stop."

"Okay," Teddy nodded, taking a deep breath and taking a tentative step away from the car and deeper into the woods. Jason was right behind him, his hand lightly brushing Teddy's finger to make sure they didn't lose each other in the darkness.

They'd made about four paces when someone, one of them, stood on a branch.

They froze and Jason could see the whites of Teddy's eyes.

"Over there,"

"Run." Jason said, taking off at a sprint, Teddy right behind him and then overtaking him. He was a fast bastard, Jason realised, chasing after him.

Behind, Jason could hear the sound of the Esposito's thugs hot on their tails however, and he was sure that there was a barking dog in the distance too. The branches were cutting and it was incredibly hard to make out where they were even gunning too.

"I hear water, Jason!" Teddy yelled from up ahead, coming to a stop so that Jason could catch up.

"Go, go, go!" Jason nodded, turning swiftly on his toes and pointing his gun behind him, firing a warning shot before chasing after Teddy again, "Don't stop running, Teddy!"

"Hurry up, then!" Teddy shouted angrily, jumping when the Thugs behind them fired their own guns, "Faster, Jason!"

A bullet barely missed Jason's ear as he followed Teddy, hearing the sound of water just as Teddy informed him there was. It was thunderous in sound and Jason imagined that the heavy rain they'd driven through earlier in the morning had done nothing but strengthened the rapids. He was hopeful for a bridge; there was always a bridge. Otherwise they were looking for a cold dip into a Canadian river.

"Shit, Jason, it's a river!" Teddy cursed, coming to a stop in a little clearing, "Fuck it's wild!"

Jason skidded to a stop and turned around again, firing his weapon back towards the forest as a warning to the thugs before he turned on his heels, quickly assessing the situation entirely.

There was no bridge. Fuck.

The rapids were wild. Fuck.

It was dark and Jason couldn't see completely whether it was a survivable torrent. Double fuck.

It was a drop to the water itself and Jason could just see one large boulder gleaming in the night with no idea how many more sharp rocks would await them in the water. Triple Fuck.

"We have to jump," Teddy insisted which was good, Jason supposed, because it meant Teddy understood that their hands were tied and they were trapped. Jason didn't have enough bullets to hold off their attackers so it was either stand and hope they didn't get shot or jump and hope they didn't drown, or hit their heads, or lose each other in the rapids, or die of hypothermia once they reached the bottom.

Fuck those were shit options.

"Jason, can you swim?" Teddy asked.

The question shocked Jason, staring at the boy in confusion for a second; did he honestly care or was he just worried for himself again?

"Yes," Jason eventually nodded, "My arm's still not a hundred per-Fuck!" he fired again, hitting the Esposito's damn dog; a lurcher thing with barbed teeth and a horrible snarl. It fell with a whine, dying eventually from the gunshot just as one of the thugs broke through the trees and received a bullet to the face.

"Hold my hand then, we can help each other," Teddy suggested, seeing that the aggravated moving had, indeed, caused Jason's healing arm to begin bleeding again.

Jason nodded, continuing to fire before chucking his gun in his pants and turning to face the river.

He took Teddy's hand, took a deep breath, and leapt off the cliff verge into the freezing cold unknown.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

 **.**

 **A lifetime ago…..**

 **Underground parking lot,**

 **Escala,**

 **Seattle**

.

"You're not going upstairs so angry."

"Don't fuckin' tell me what to do, Taylor. I'm your boss. No-not the other way abouts!"

Christian was devastated. And smashed. His thoughts and emotions were running wild and it was proving uncontrollable for him. The drinking with Elena hadn't helped; her counsel hadn't done anything to soothe him.

The only person who could soothe him was his Ana but he was so angry at her that all he wanted to do was grab her and drag her into his playroom and show her what her idiocy had caused him.

A father.

He wasn't the father type.

"I can't let you go upstairs when you're this angry," Jason repeated, arms crossed against his big chest, "Not when there are women upstairs."

Women.

He was protecting Ana and Gail when his job was to protect Christian.

"So's what am I gonna do?" Christian growled, "I can't be a dad. I'm no good. I'm so fucking shit. She needs to break it off with me. No babies."

Jason's facial expression didn't soften. Instead he narrowed his eyes, "What do you need to calm down, Christian?"

...did Taylor just use his Christian name.

Ha.

Christian was his Christian name.

In his drunken state, Christian chuckled then leant against one of his neighbours vehicles for support.

"I need the playroom. I need control again. I feel sick and unbalanced," Christian explained, his mind dizzy with liquor, "I'm so angry at her. I want to punish her so fucking much, Jason. A fucking baby!"

Taylor did nothing for a moment, then turned and looked up at one of the CCTV cameras and waved his big arms up in the air. He was probably signalling to Sawyer or whoever the fuck was in the security office that Christian wasn't getting into his own fucking home tonight.

Fucking prick.

Christian would see Jason working airline security for this.

However, Jason, suddenly, unbuttoned his sports jacket, folding it once and laying it across some random car. He then began to pop the buttons of his white shirt, taking it off to along with his tie and folding each quickly and neatly with military precision.

The man was solid muscle but instead of ever feeling inferior to Jason's eight pack and massive arms, Christian could see his scars and knew that they were on the same wavelength. They were both messed up. Ana didn't get it, Gail didn't get it. But they got each other and that was all they needed when it came to this sorta messed up shit. Taylor knew how scary being a dad was to Christian. But right now, he was pissing him off relentlessly when all he wanted to do was get upstairs and…and…god he didn't know what he wanted to do.

"Just fucking let me in Jason," Christian snapped, not understanding this stupid fucking strip show. What the fuck had gotten into this fucking prick? All Christian wanted was to get upstairs.

Jason unbuckled his belt next and pulled the thing out in one swift tug, "I can't let you in while you're this unstable. I can't trust that, in your drunken stupor, you don't accidently hurt Ana."

"I would never hurt her-"

"You would never hurt her outside the playroom, you twisted freak, but you're slimy and manipulative and that woman upstairs would follow you into that dungeon so you would forgive her. You know that and you're drunk enough to seriously hurt her. And that's why you're dangerous. Better men have done worse sober. I'm making the call, Christian. You don't get upstairs until I know you're calm," Jason said firmly, handing Christian the heavy leather belt he'd just removed, "But I know there's potential in you. We all do. You're making some fantastic leaps and bounds. And none of us want to see you fuck this up with Ana so," Jason cracked his neck and then turned his back on Christian, "Take it out on me."

"Taylor. What the fuck?" Christian spat, "You want me to whip you?"

"I want to help you find yourself so that I can get back in bed with my girlfriend without worrying that you're taking that vulnerable wife of yours into the playroom when she's not got full capacity to give consent. You could tell her to jump off a bridge tonight and she'd do it to stop you being mad at her. Take it out on me."

"Are you gay?"

"I'll pretend you didn't ask me that."

Christian glared at Jason's back and felt his anger mingle with his lust for control. Tightening his hold on the belt, he focused on his shoulder blades.

"I'm going to hit you, Jason. Twenty times." Christian said firmly, "If it's too much-"

"Don't you dare give me a safeword. This isn't about sex with you tonight. This is about violence and violence for the abuse you got as a child. You do this to me to calm yourself down and then you fire this prick Flynn because if he's okay knowing that this is how you cope then the bastard is exploiting you. Because this is not a healthy coping mechanism; having to resort to beating up someone. Yeah, handcuffs are fun. So is a little orgasm denial. Spanking too. But that shit is about sex. This... this violent punishment mentality...this is messed up. And it's not you. You've crossed a line tonight and I'm not going to let you upstairs until the Christian we love is back and if I need to stand here all night and take a beating then I will because you're worth the investment to me."

 _You're worth the investment to me…_

Christian felt tears prickle in his eyes as he studied Jason's back.

"Do it, Christian. But please keep it above the waist. I'm male."

Christian knew Taylor was right. He knew it as he lifted the belt and slammed the leather across Jason's shoulder blades. He wanted Ana in the playroom but she wouldn't have full capacity to give consent because she was so distraught. Likewise, it wouldn't be about sex. It would be about punishment and taking his anger out on the woman he loved. It would be violent. And Ana deserved love. He'd promised he'd never bring violence into the playroom again and Jason had stopped him from breaking that promise and losing his wife.

Even drunk, Christian understood that he'd crossed into a dark, unknown, territory tonight. One of no control and fear. But here was Jason Taylor, ready as always to save Christian's life.

"Seven." Christian said as he brought the belt over Jason's back again, seeing painful looking welts beginning to form. It made Christian sick to ever think he would do this to his Ana.

 _God, Ana, he was so fucked up._

"Twelve."

Jason was struggling but he didn't say anything. He didn't move. He just took the punishment and Christian pretended not to notice the stricken man was crying.

"Sixteen." Christian groaned, the fight leaving him, "Seventeen."

Jason was supporting himself on the garage pillar, wincing now with each stroke of his belt, "Twenty."

Christian dropped the belt and stepped forwards as quickly as his drunken legs would let him. Jason collapsed forwards and let himself go to his knees.

"Don't touch me!" he warned Christian before he laid a hand on him. With effort, Jason forced himself up again and staggering towards his pile of clothes. He was still crying, and it broke Christian's heart to see and instantly he regretted what he'd done.

 _And he'd wanted to do this to Ana?!_

"Jason-"

"You touch me and I will lash out," Jason warned him.

"You consented-"

"I did consent. It's not you. It's just…demons from the past," Jason said and Christian watched him covering his ears for some reason, "Can you switch the lights on?"

"Sure. Gimme a second," Christian nodded, staggering towards the industrial light switch and illuminating the whole garage, "There. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Jason said, studying the once dark corners, "I just thought I saw someone. A ghost."

"A ghost?" Christian frowned, looking over his shoulder, "'s no one here but us."

"I know," Jason nodded, buttoning up his shirt carefully, his jacket over his shoulder arm, "How are you feeling?"

"Really good now. I think I can go upstairs," Christian slurred. The man hadn't sobered up any but he felt his mood was a so much better and he no longer felt like he needed to drag Ana into the Playroom. Instead he wanted to hold his wife and snuggle. "You don't get paid enough." Christian mumbled as they both walked towards the elevator, "I'll do anything for you to make it up to you."

"Make me the godfather," Jason smirked weakly, slapping Christian up the side of his head, "It's okay to be scared but you've got to stop being selfish. Mistakes happen. You can't focus on how you, alone, are feeling because, like it or not, you're going to be a dad. Your only option right now is to decide if you're going to be a good dad or a bad dad."

"Are they hard?" Christian asked, "Babies. How much does it change?"

"A lot of sex less weeks," Jason admitted, Christian slumping against him. The bodyguard stroked his hair comfortingly, "Dolly was a bitch. She wouldn't give me sex at the best of times but after Sophie was born I maybe got it once every two months? I was in my twenties and a Marine. Didn't go down too well for me."

"Once every two months?" Christian croaked.

"And then there's the haemorrhoids and the swollen ankles and all the fun little pregnancy things you don't learn about in sex ed," Jason continued as they rode up the elevator.

"I'll get haemorrhoids?" Christian squeaked now.

"Nah, she will," Jason chuckled, "You'd be a good father, Christian. If you let yourself be one. You'll be a dick when they want a little independence but until then, you'll make a great dad. Talk it out with Ana. Don't let your chance fly by because you're scared. We're all scared."

"If I can do anything, Taylor, for tonight," Christian hiccupped, "Let me know?"

"Just promise me that you'll look after me if I'm ever in this sort of a state. Or look after Gail if I fuck up. Because you know I'd look after Ana," Jason asked and stepped out of the elevator, "I'm going to my girlfriend now. Get your ass to bed." He concluded and silently disappeared as Christian drunkenly stumbled out of the elevator.

.  
.

 **00:03**

 **Discovery Park,**

 **By the Puget Sound,**

 **Seattle  
.**

Gail took a deep breath as Luke parked the Ford. They had made it in good time to Discovery Park but they we're early which was either a blessing or a curse, neither really knew which.

Slowly, Luke turned around in his seat and studied Gail. She looked nervous but forced him a smile which broke his heart. She had told no one about the brain tumour and Luke wondered if Jason truly knew himself. After all, if Danni had a brain tumour, Luke would literally be handing Teddy over to the Esposito family just so he could be with his wife.

But both Gail and Jason had ridiculously strong work ethics and the Grey children were like kids to themselves. Gail would divorce Taylor on the spot if she thought he'd abandoned Teddy for her.

"I'm sorry about this Gail," Luke said softly.

"It's not your fault, Luke. These are your daughters. I understand completely. Just promise me that, if something happens, you'll look after Jason for me?" Gail stressed which made Luke's heart ache. JT would be so mad at him for sacrificing Gail for Eddie and Isla.

"Nothing will happen. I'll not let it; I'll kill these fuckers before they can even cock their own guns. I promise you," Luke said, holding her knee, "I'll keep you safe."

"What does being shot feel like?" Gail suddenly asked him.

Fuck.

Luke stared into her grass green eyes and replied honestly. How could he lie when she'd offered herself as live bait?

"It burns," Luke said slowly, "It depends what you've been shot with of course, but more often or not you don't feel the burning instantly. In a firefight you're so high on adrenaline that being shot doesn't always compute. It's not until you feel the blood pouring from your body that you suddenly register this sharp, fire burning under your skin. Like hot burning coals. Its agony, utter agony." he told Gail, watching her pale a little before she nodded.

"In that case, hit them in the face, Sawyer," Gail grinned weakly, trying to be brave. Her efforts were greatly appreciated though because they kept Luke calm. He needed to be steady and collected, prepared for whoever was coming.

If anyone was coming.

The Esposito thugs were later which was annoying as fuck to Luke. He glared as a large white van pulled up with mud smeared on the license plate. From what he could see, there were four men, predominantly white males wearing hooded jackets and scarves. Not the professionalism Luke expected if he was being honest with himself.

"Is that them?" Gail whispered.

"I assume so but there's something off here. They look...to be honest, Gail, I was expecting men that looked like Jason. Suave, suits, professional, big. A nicer car too. Every member of the Esposito family that Reynolds showed me all looked the stereotype mob gangster. These just look like street boys out to make a name for themselves. Or men who are trying out for the gang."

"They look a little old to just be errand boys," Gail commented, "That one there looks like a fat Reynolds."

Luke stared over to the man in question; a bald white male, terrible teeth and a chubby neck. Just a typical white skin head thug...but sadly he did look a lot like Reynolds if the former CIA allowed himself to dress so disgustingly.

' _looks like a fat Reynolds...'_

Luke felt the clogs turning over in his mind as a second man, a heavier fellow with black hair and a dark beard came out. He pulled a scarf over half his face but there was no real point; the Ford's engine was still running and so was the dash cam which would have clocked him.

"Come on," Luke said slowly, getting into character, "No sudden movements."

He opened his door first and approached the four men, "Where's my family?"

The bald guy spoke, a terrible Irish accent, "Are you Luke Sawyer? Formerly SEAL team 1?"

"Yes," Luke snapped, "Where are my daughters?"

Luke didn't believe his daughters were here which scared him. There was no chance the Esposito family would trust their bargaining tools with these dead beats. With their wired drugged up eyes and their twitchy trigger fingers.

"You got the package?" Dublin said, the streetlight bouncing off his bald head.

"Half of it. The other half is locked down until I get proof of life." Luke growled and that clearly shocked them. They hadn't covered that scenario before they'd been let loose tonight. But Luke had witnessed enough terrorist negotiations from the side lines to know how to get what he wanted in these situations. He was good but god he wished good Ol' Reny was here to help him. Reynolds was the man, after all. He was the team's talking genius.

 _Use you the Force, Luke..._

Luke allowed himself a fleeting smile; it was something Ryan the Dork would say whenever Luke was required to work out with his normal domain.

"That wasn't the deal," Dublin backtracked. Apparently he was the speaker. Luke had assessed the others and derived that the dark haired prick was the muscle and the other two were local junkies looking for their next fix. They were as high as the fucking stratosphere with pupils the colour of Luke's ass hair.

Wormy pricks.

"We've got a new deal. I've got Gail Taylor in my car back there. You get her, you give me one of my daughters and then I take you to Anastasia Grey for the other daughter," Luke said, hands at his side. The moment he put them above his head he'd lose the power struggle so he was being conscious not to do so.

"That's fair, Patrick," The big dark haired burly guy said.

Dublin shot him a look for revealing his name, "Garth. Shut it."

 _Patrick and Garth, huh?_

Like Lennie and George, Luke wondered if big Garth had ever crushed a few rabbits or two and Patrick had to deal with the fall out.

"Come on, boys. I'll even let you take Gail first. I just need one girl in exchange and you keep another hostage until I give you Ana." Luke pressed, wanting to get back on track. He didn't turn his back as he walked back over to the Ford, opening Gail's door and dragging her forward to the waiting hounds.

"Luke, please," Gail sobbed.

 _Good girl._

"I'm sorry, Gail," Luke mumbled, throwing her down. He'd cuffed her arms earlier, to make this all look as natural as possible.

"My husband treated you like a son," Gail begged now, "Don't betray him like this. After everything-"

Dublin approached Gail with a roll of tape, ripping a piece with his teeth and covering up her mouth. Luke took a deep breath, having been prepared to go for his gun if the Irish melt intended on harming Gail.

"Right, Sawyer. I'm satisfied that this is Gail Taylor. Garth, show him his girls," Dublin called as he retreated back to his gang.

Luke braced himself and was glad Gail did the same because Garth, Junkie One and Junkie Two, pulled out their fire arms and fired.

.  
.

"No!" Reynolds cursed, watching as both Luke and Gail dropped to the floor.

Christian Grey was beside him, wrapped in every bullet proof material Welch had available with him. The businessman refused to stay with Phoebe and Ryan when Ana had called them to let them know what Luke had tried to do and that Gail had volunteered her life for the life of the Sawyer Ladies. He'd spoken about promising Jason he'd look after Gail or some bullshit. Reynolds had had no time to argue with him as they'd jumped into the car and sped here.

"They're dead!" Christian choked, looking sick as the men cheered and hi-fived each other for their efforts.

"Yeah they are fucking dead," Reynolds growled, pulling out his own fire arm from the glove compartment and getting out of the car, "Call the cops."

Grey was safe if he stayed put but right now, Reynolds wasn't thinking straight. He was thinking about his best friends.

Gail, the mother they all wished they'd had growing up in their childhoods. The woman who did their washing, sweaty boxers and all, and didn't care if you left skid-marks. The woman who remembered not just their birthdays but those of their kids and partners. The woman who's husband they all doted on.

And Luke, the egotistical, narcissistic, impulsive, reckless Navy SEAL who supported Reynolds coming out like no one else. He'd taken Reynolds to Gay Bars for the first time ever, he'd encouraged him to go home with that cute Veterinarian where he'd had his first real gay experience. He'd been wonderful with Craig, Reynolds husband, and had been both of their guest at the small venue wedding.

 _Gail and Luke..._

"Hey!" Reynolds shouted and popped the two runty looking hooded guys in the knees, knocking them to the floor in a sobbing heap, "You fucking bastards! How dare you kill my fucking friends!"

"Who is this?" the dumb dark haired prick asked.

"No idea. Kill him!" the bald asshole huffed.

Reynolds dived out of the way, hiding behind a car as a torrent of bullets fell his way. The dark haired bastard had an assault rifle. Military issue. He would be getting locked up for sure if Reynolds didn't kill him first.

"Kill him!" Bald Thug shouted, "I'll start the car- who the fuck are you?!"

Reynolds looked under the car and spied Christian with a switchblade, ripping into the van's tires to immobilise it. He'd taken out the back ones already from what Reynolds could see but he'd been caught stabbing one of the front ones.

Fucking moron!

Reynolds told him to call the fucking police, not leave the car!

Bald thug grinned, "Oi, Garth! Change of plans. We're taking Christian Grey to Slick himself. He's bound to see us if we promise him Christian Grey!"

Reynolds went to help Christian but was pinned down again behind a car as the big bastard, Garth, continued to use that assault rifle. Fuck fuck fuck, he was going to lose Grey! He pulled out his mobile in panic, needing the police here pronto, no idea if Christian had called them himself or not before he'd decided to come play hero in a fire fight.

"Over my dead body are you taking Grey!"

Reynolds, Garth, Baldy and Christian turned to watch, in amazement, as Luke staggered to his feet, lifted a pistol and slammed Garth in the face with his gun, blowing the guy's skull wide open and spraying all forms of grey matter and bone fragments on the floor.

Before the assault rifle had even hit the ground, Reynolds had taken his chance and ran like a cheetah, tackling Baldy to the ground before he could touch Grey. He fell with a huff but Reynolds had him pinned down. He may not have had the muscle which Jason, Luke and Ryan possessed, but he was powerful from marathon running and he knew how to hold a bubba till the cops got to them.

"Luke, are you alright?!" Christian shouted, running towards both Luke and Gail.

"I'm fine. We're fine," Luke laughed almost hysterically, untying Gail's arms and pulling the woman up to her feet.

They were alive?!

Reynolds watched as Gail slowly unbuttoned her blouse, revealing the most beautiful Kevlar suit Reynolds had ever seen, compressed bullets embedded in the material. She'd bruise horrifically but she was alive. They were both alive.

"We were wearing bullet proof vests," Luke grinned at Christian and then laughed again, looking like an absolute mad man, "And I've got a plan to get my daughters back and to help Teddy and Jason."

Reynolds watched on, the sounds of sirens ringing in the distance, as Christian pulled back his fist and whacked that smug ass smile from Luke's chops.

Fucking Navy SEALs, Reynolds mumbled under his breath, tightening his hold on Baldy underneath him


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter fourteen**

 **.**

 **Six years ago….**

 **Taylor cottage,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle**

 **.**

.

"Use your teeth,"

Jason groaned lowly, his one good hand in Gail's hair as she gave him a very fond farewell from her knees.

Why oh why oh why did her sister have to get her tubes tied the same week Jason broke his wrist? It was like she deliberately organised it in a way which meant Gail had to go help her with the house work rather than stay at home pleasuring her own husband who also had a boo-boo.

He felt her graze her teeth against himself and nearly blew there, looking down at her and getting plenty of lustful eye contact.

He'd miss this.

What was he going to do now his wanking arm -as well as his writing arm, but really what's more important?- was fractured? He had three weeks off pending recovery speed and for the first few days Gail would be gone and he'd be alone. Bored. Blowjob-less.

Stupid GEH.

Stupid Seattle with its stupid need for coffee.

Stupid spilt coffee on the top of the stairs.

Stupid Grey for laughing his ass off when Jason made it to the floor after tumbling like a boulder.

Stupid Grey's mom for being so sweet and unbelievably sexy in her uniform when Grey had taken Jason to the emergency room and she'd popped up to say hello with, yup, more coffee.

It had hurt like a bitch but not as much as it had hurt his ego, lying there on his stomach in front of the grand entrance, Grey running down to help him and having to take care of him for once.

"I'm gonna cum, Little Woman," Jason told Gail, knowing she hated nothing more than being mid suck and surprised. At first he'd thought it was funny when she got mad for not being warned...then she threatened to stop giving head completely and that scared him stiff.

With a huff and a few shudders of his thighs he finished, watching Gail swallow as best she could whilst still toying with his sensitive dick. The face she made when she finally let him go saw Taylor giggle a little to himself, leaning over and grabbing her his glass of juice from the bedside cabinet.

She accepted it after he'd helped her up off the carpet, drinking it deeply, shaking her head, "God, after nearly two decades sucking you off I still find that taste utterly repulsive," she huffed, drinking the rest of the glass, "Like bleached grapefruit mixed with salted pennies. And it's somehow spicy! I can't explain it. Horrid."

"I'll try that whole pineapple shit Sawyer was talking about. See if that works. It's a shame because you taste divine," Jason laughed, pulling up his Armani boxers then his sweatpants with his only wrist.

Gail watched in approval; she loved him in his suits but Jason knew that she also had a soft spot for his grey sweatpants. They hung off his hips just below the V shaped muscles he worked on, and there was no denying that they gave him a serious bulge outline. Gail said she liked the fantasy of having sex with someone…gruff? Perhaps it was because she was so used to the clean and proper; fucking some lowlife wearing trainers and sweatpants was probably more an act of rebellion for her. If he tread mud in to the house whilst wearing his trainers he got extra points.

Not that Jason judged her for her fantasies; he liked sniffing her feet after a long day at work.

She cast her eyes down his sweat pants and socks now and Jason internally groaned. "Pleeeeeease don't go to your sisters. Please? Take care of me instead of her."

"Sailor, you know I can't. Her husband's on an emergency business trip to Bangkok and she's not going to be able to look after two children when she's just had keyhole surgery," Gail reminded him for the hundredth time, "I'll be two days at the most then I'll be back here."

"Two days is so long though," Jason complained.

Gail laughed and walked towards him, running her hand over his sweatpants and gently tugging on his dick, "I think there are longer things in the world." she teased, her other hand going between his legs to stroke his gouch and then balls, "Much longer things."

"Ooh Mrs T-"

"TAYLOR! I brought you medicine!"

Gail laughed and removed her hands. Jason growled softly then smiled, tucking his dick up into his waistband before opening the bedroom door and calling downstairs, "Phoebe! Does mom know you're here?"

"Mom's making cookies for everyone, so I thought I'd come make sure you were okay." Phoebe explained and when Jason poked his head out his bedroom door he smiled at the sight of her; dressed in a nurse's costume complete with plastic equipment.

Sure, Gail looked mighty fine in a nurse outfit, but there was no denying how much Jason preferred seeing his best friend all suited up to 'take care of him'. She was just so adorable.

Gail appeared with her toothbrush in her mouth, washing away Jason's flavour no doubt, "Hi, Phoebe! Are you looking after Jason while I'm gone?"

"Yes, Gail," Phoebe nodded with that serious eight year old expression, "He only has on arm now so he needs helped out more."

"Let's go outside, Phoebe, I fancy a bit of sunlight," Jason decided, not bothering with a shirt since it was so sunny and he hated having his sling obstructed. Grey was away all day with Sawyer and, in his absence, Ana just let everyone 'chill' a bit. Jason wasn't off often to see what 'chill' meant but on more than one occasion he'd come back to the Mansion with Grey and Sawyer or whoever was watching movies with the kids, eating nachos. Not doing the job right.

Ana was a wonderful boss but she was also too relaxed. Especially now she was broody again and mothering everyone. Grey had spoken in the car about how **_JASON_** would feel if there was another Grey-let running wild. Jason. He'd asked Jason. Like it mattered what Jason thought in terms of having another baby? He didn't have to clean the diapers.

Well, he did actually.

God, no wonder Teddy told his teacher that he had two dads. Mrs Herman had had a little panic that Teddy was being groomed or something sinister. Turns out he just thought Gail and Jason were also his parents and that he had two of each; the mind of a four year old.

Teddy had that English boy, Stephen, over and the pair were playing with a ball, Elliot and Kate's chocolate lab running circles around them whilst the Taylors bulldog just lay in the shade, drooling.

"Hey Taylor!" Teddy waved happily. When did their Tedster become a man? He was twelve now.

Twelve.

He'd a breaking voice, reeked of sweat, hair on his belly at the spot Taylor would blow raspberries on when he was a tot…god it was so sad to see him growing up so fucking quickly.

"Hello, Mr Taylor," Stephen also said, politer than Teddy. But he was a descendent to some British royalty somewhere down the line. Rich kids for sure.

"Hey, boys," Jason called then stopped, noticing they were wearing Lucky and Lesley's dog leads around their necks. "Be careful with those leads around your necks. They're not toys. Put them on your belts." he reminded them before being tugged inside Grey mansion with Phoebe then forced down on the kitchen sofa.

"Mommy, Taylor needs kisses to make his sore bit go away," Doctor Phoebe instructed firmly, "I'll write you a subscription for kisses."

"Aw do I need a _prescription_ for kisses?" Jason pouted, subtly correcting her, "Can't I get kisses with my charming personality?"

"Mmmm maybe," Phoebe giggled, climbing up onto his lap and kissing him. She snuggled in beside him and sighed, "Teddy and Stephen wouldn't let me go with them to the meadows with Lucky and Lesley. They said it was for men and called me a whiny girl."

"You're not a whiny girl. You're a beautiful little lady who's going to be flying military jets and be president of the United States all at the same time," Jason joked.

"I'm gonna be a Marine like you," Phoebe decided, "Even though Lukey said that the SEALs were better."

"Phoebe, you can be whatever you want to be," Taylor promised, rubbing her little shoulder. Teddy was so much like his father's impulsive side. He'd a fiery temper, despised being told off, loved being the centre of the universe. Phoebe was more like business Christian; quietly determined, alert and aware of her surroundings. Neither were like their mother in terms of personality, not that Taylor could see, but they were also two completely different humans and often Teddy could be cruel to his little sister when he wanted.

Sadistic little prick, bullying Jason's princess.

"Phoebe Grey. I told you to stop bothering Mr Taylor. He's not your play thing. He's an adult and maybe doesn't want you bothering him on his day off," Ana called, rubbing her forehead when she came back into the kitchen to finish baking something….questionable looking.

"I wasn't bothering him on his day off," Phoebe insisted, "I was making his sore bit better."

"I'm so sorry, Jason. I hope she didn't interrupt you? We tell her constantly to stop invading your cottage," Ana stressed.

"It's okay, Mrs Grey. She didn't interrupt a thing," Jason lied, letting Phoebe go and continue exploring. He stood up now he was free, using his good arm to lift himself. Ana ran her eyes over his attire and smirked a little which was odd and made Jason just a little self-conscious about the fact he was topless with his sling, "I can't get shirts on over my wrist," he explained. "And I hate having my wrist under my clothes. I was just going to be in our garden," he added.

"Oh I know your wrist is bad, don't worry about being topless. Its fine," Ana said firmly, "It's not that. It's just, well, in the book I'm writing, the main character has a really powerful bodyguard and I was just describing him a little today before the nibblets woke up."

"I look forward to reading this book of yours." Jason said with a smile, "Gail enjoys reading the extracts you give her."

"Does she?" Ana beamed.

"Yes ma'am. I think her favourite so far was the, uh, racier scenes," Jason admitted, feeling his cheeks blush. Ana's book was coming along slowly, her family taking priority which meant that she didn't often get time to write it. What she had written, Gail loved. Reynolds too. The guy had an English lit degree too so they spoke a lot about literacy.

"Moooooom, Taylor," Teddy suddenly called, walking into the kitchen, "Lucky's ball is stuck in the Fairy Tree."

"Leave it till your dad gets home," Ana said firmly, shooting Jason a 'don't you dare' look, "I'm making us all cookies and Jason's not climbing that tree."

"Well what about Ryan?" Teddy mumbled, typical pre-teen.

"Ryan's afraid of heights," Jason said for Ana.

Like his father, Teddy rose an eyebrow in amusement, "I thought he was a big tough US Ranger?"

"I'm a Marine but I'm terrified of spiders," Jason pointed out, "You put a clown anywhere near Reynolds and he pisses his pants. Everyone can be scared of something."

"So Lucky's just going to bark and cry till Dad gets home because his ball's stuck up that stupid tree?" Teddy huffed again.

"Yep," Ana pointed out, "So a little less of the attitude from you, Mister. Lunch is nearly done anyway so both you boys come inside and get cleaned up."

Under his breath, Teddy cursed.

"And take that damn leash from your neck!" Jason called after him for good measure, shaking his head, "He's his father's son."

"You're telling me?" Ana mumbled, "Grace says Christian was just like this; pushing boundaries. We're staying strong though. No way is he getting away with speaking to any of us like that," she chuckled, "So if he gives you or the others sass then discipline him."

"Oh goody," Jason smiled and stood with difficulty, flexing the fingers of his bad arm, "I thought I did my time with Sophie."

"Afraid not, Taylor," Ana chuckled then looked down when Phoebe ran in from outside, "Hey, Sweetie, what's wrong?"

"Mommy, Taylor, Stephen's stuck in the tree. He's dangling," she said quickly, staring up at Jason with worry in those perfect blue eyes.

"Dangling?" Ana frowned, walking briskly towards the door just as they heard the most blood curdling scream;

" ** _Taylor!"_**

.

.

 **00:03**

 **Discovery Park,**

 **By the Puget Sound,**

 **Seattle**

.

.

"Nope."

"Come on, Reny," Luke cooed, stripping big ugly Garth of his clothes, flicking bits of brain and skull onto the ground, "You sorta look like him. This could work."

"What? Because I'm bald?" Reynolds snapped, still pissed off that Gail and Luke had been wearing vests. Well, not pissed off. More in shock that they were alive when he'd thought he'd lost them both.

Luke understood how that felt. He'd watched Ryan be gunned down before when someone had attempted to grab Mrs Grey a few years ago. It happened in this line of work. Still, Luke was growing irritated by Reynolds negative attitude.

"You do look like him," Luke insisted firmly, pointing down at Dublin who was tied up and yelling, "Right, guys?"

Both Gail and Grey nodded sheepishly. Sure, Dublin was a little rattier looking, but Reynolds was incredibly wiry from all these marathons he did. They were both bald and about the same height too. Dublin was clearly a user, which was possibly the biggest difference between the two. Other than that, they could be cousins.

"So what? You and me dress up like these two fuckers because we sort of look like them? And then we do what? Walk into the lion's den and demand to see Slick empty handed?" Reynolds growled, "Because we're not giving them Gail."

"Well that's the plan so far," Luke nodded, shaking more bits of brain off Garth's shirt and hoody before pulling them on over his bare chest, "I'll walk it, grab my girls and leave. A second pair of hands would be preferential, Reny. And no, I'm not taking Gail. That would be stupid."

"Oh, that's the stupid part to you?" Reynolds said sarcastically, "I'm making the call; you're being benched. You're too involved with the situation. You can't be Jason's XO in his absence."

"That's fine; bench me," Sawyer said, taking Garth's grimy Nike trainers and slipping them on. Big fucker had big feet, Luke pleasantly surprised by much room there was, "Just means I can focus all my energy on getting my girls home, safe, without having to find Dumb and Dumber out in the Canadian wilderness."

"Luke, this is suicide!" Reynold snapped, "I'm asking you as a friend; calm down and think."

"I am thinking. They're expecting to hear back from these muppets so we're going to go in their place," Luke said, not understanding what Reynolds couldn't understand about this situation. The guy was CIA; he was supposed to be good at this undercover shit, right?

"WE?!" Reynolds shouted now, getting mad. Luke saw the vein on his neck rise in pointless exasperation. "We are not going-"

"You wont get in without something that'll make Slick Esposito want to see you," Grey chimed in, rubbing Gail's back as he stared directly into Luke's eyes, "You need a reason for him to care who you are."

"I'll make up some bullshit excuse that Jason's heading to San Diego," Luke shrugged, "I've not gotten that far in my plan yet."

"Typical SEAL," Reynolds huffed, "Never thinking before they leap out of a helo."

"Fuck off, Reny. I'm a laid back guy but you're bumming my last nerve." Luke snapped.

"Bumming. Really? A gay joke?" Reynolds laughed, shaking his head, "You're so fucking clueless."

"I know exactly what I'm doing actually; I'm getting my daughters and wife home. Safely," Luke snarled at Reynolds now, turning back to Grey, "Then I'll take whatever punishment I get for attempting to kidnap Ana."

"Sawyer," Grey called now, Luke turning to face the handsome bastard, "Take me with you."

"Not a fucking chance," Reynolds spat.

Luke didn't move, just staring into Grey's crystal like eyes. The bastard's gray eyes were envious to say the least. Like some sorta husky dog; so glass like. Luke had always adored them secretly. His own were a mix of blue-green, but he'd always wished he'd had blue eyes like his siblings.

The dark hair and greeny-bluish eyes were polar opposite to his ginger father, brother and sisters and so acted as a constant reminder that his own mother had either had an affair or had been raped. 'Dad' said affair, mum said rape; Luke didn't care which any more himself. Not knowing his heritage meant very little to him now he had his own family. Both Eddie and Isla had his eyes, his dark hair and, the poor souls, they also had his thick eyebrows.

God he wanted them home, in his arms.

But he couldn't think about them. Not yet. He had to keep himself in the zone and to do that he had to channel out all the noise inside of his head;

Teddy and Jason.

Gail's brain tumour revelation.

Eddie and Isla.

Danni.

It needed to just be him and his instincts otherwise he'd die and until his girls were home, he just couldn't let that happen.

"If I help you get your girls home I need you to get me my son," Christian bargained, "I need him home. With me."

"No-" Reynolds started again.

"Deal," Luke said firmly, "You let me use you as bait to get me into Slick's company and I will not only find Teddy but I will obliterate the danger and then, afterwards, I'll even vote for you when you run for president or whatever the fuck you're running for."

He turned then to look at Reynolds who was shaking with anger, "You coming, Baldy?"

"Looks like I fucking am now," Reynolds huffed then ran his hand over his bald head, turning to Gail. They needed to get a fucking move on; Luke could hear the cops and Welch, no doubt, getting closer. If they wanted to do this, uninterrupted, they had to move now.

"The address for my Safe House for Craig and Mei is written in a copy of War and Peace in Craig's art room," Reynolds told her, then kissed her softly, "Please, if anything happens, tell them I love them both." He pulled off his wedding ring and gave it to Gail before running over to Dublin who was very much still alive and cursing them all.

Christian turned to Gail next, holding her hand, "Gail?"

The petite woman turn and stared at Christian curiously.

A brain tumour; why their Gail? Of all the whores and idiots in the world, why did she and Jason deserve this?

Grey couldn't help himself; he embraced her tightly, scars be damned. Luke knew he'd promised Jason he would look after Gail if the Marine wasn't there to do so himself. And that's just what he was going to do, Luke was sure.

"Mr Grey," Gail choked, shocked at the embrace. It was her undoing, however, and she slumped against him and began to weep.

"It's going to be okay, Gail," Christian promised her, "It's going to be okay. When Welch gets here, tell him everything you know. Then I'm flying you and Ryan out of here. You're going to a private hospital in London. Both of you. You'll get the treatment you need and Ryan can recover safely in a nicer environment where his girlfriend is safe to visit him.

"Mr Grey...I can't leave Jason here," Gail objected.

"This is what Jason wants," Christian said confidently, "And I promise you, Gail, we're going to find him and help him."

"He's in so much danger," Gail sniffed.

"He's a marine. They're like bulldogs. Speaking of which, Lesley is coming with you to London," Christian added, making Gail laugh.

"God. That dog of ours," she laughed, stepping back and wiping her eyes. She looked over towards Reynolds who was now holding a ringing mobile phone.

"I think that's them," Reynolds growled, looking down at Dublin, "You guys got a code word? Choose your answer wisely. We'll murder your entire family if you mislead us right now."

Dublin looked fearful, particularly when Luke aimed his gun in the guy's asshole. In the most beautiful Irish accent, the junkie thug replied;

'It's Bear Hunt. The code word is Bear Hunt. I swear, we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into-"

"Shut up," Reynolds commanded, "Now lose your clothes before the cops pull up. We have places to be." And with that, Luke grinned as Reynolds dawned a pretty damn good Irish accent and answered the phone.

.

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **Fuck knows what time,**

 **Drowning in the middle of fuck knows,**

 **Losing his balls to hypothermia in some Canadian river,**

 **.**

.

The cold shocked him, causing his breath to be lost completely as he swirled and tumbled in the rapids. His lungs were burning so he used the last of the feeling in his legs to push up towards the surface.

With a gasp, Teddy came face to face with the most beautiful night sky he'd ever seen.

His wrist hurt like a bitch and Teddy was sure he'd broken it but he was alive and managing, just, to stay afloat. His body was becoming numb with cold so he desperately tried to keep his legs moving and kicking before they seized up.

"Jason?" his voice was a mere whisper as he gargled on a mouthful of water, looking around the dark water for his bodyguard, "Jason?!"

Panic filled Teddy's lungs as he looked around the water frantically for Taylor but it was just so fucking dark that he couldn't see jack shit. Straining his eyes, he noticed, in the distance, a quick glimpse of pink in the water a little ahead of him. It could have just been a rock, though, he wasn't honestly too sure. But if it was a rock it might be sturdy enough to grab hold of so Teddy continued forward, deliberately kicking his legs as best he could to move faster.

The closer he got, however, the more the rock shaped blob became human shaped.

Thank fuck.

"Jason!" Teddy spluttered, a current pulling him under suddenly and it took all his effort to surface this time, gasping and choking as he spun in circles. He was so disorientated that he'd no idea where Jason had gone. Had he been swept under? Was he hurt?

"Jason?" Teddy shouted as loudly as he could, seeing Jason just ahead once more, pulling his body up onto a piece of driftwood which sunk instantly under his weight, "Jason?" Teddy called, using his good arm and his bad arm to catch up with him at last, wrapping his arms around Jason's chest, "Jason!"

The big Bastard had a nasty knock on his head which was bleeding slowly, "Jason, wake up!" Teddy demanded, keeping them both afloat as best he could as they drifted further in the rapids, "Jason, wake up!"

"Two more minutes, Ted," Jason mumbled.

Fuck he must have come down on his head pretty hard.

"No ' _Two more minutes_ ' you lazy shit," Teddy groaned, kicking forward with all the effort he could, eyes searching for something he could grab or try to float towards. They hit a few rocks and Teddy nearly lost his hold on the CPO, working double time to keep them above the water, "Jason, keep awake."

"Fuck off," Jason huffed, head lolling.

"You fucking prick, keep your fucking face out the fucking water. You have one fucking job, Jason. I'm keeping the rest of you afloat you selfish-Fuck!"

They smashed up against a particularly jagged boulder, the pain instant for Teddy as his sore arm was pressed between it and the weight of Jason, himself and the water pressure.

But they'd stopped moving; they were grounded.

Cold, wet and they'd probably die of hypothermia, but they had stopped moving.

"Christian?" Jason chattered, finally coming round, now at-fucking-last, "What the hell?"

"No. It's Ted. Don't move. I'm getting us to the shore," Teddy shivered, using his legs to push himself against the water so he could better assess the situation. There was only one way to do this and that was to climb up onto this particular boulder and try and jump to the shore, "Are you okay?"

"My head…" Jason trembled in Teddy's grasp.

"I know. You must have hit it on the jump down," Teddy said, "You've obviously got a really thick skull."

"I do," Jason laughed, "Are you okay?"

"There's something wrong with my wrist but, other than that, I'm fine," Teddy admitted, then laughed, "Jason. We just jumped off a cliff into rapids. That was so fucking awesome."

"I know, right?" Jason agreed then winced, "I can touch the ground I think."

"Can I climb up you and then pull you up?" Teddy asked, holding Jason's shoulders now.

"Promise you'll pull me up?" Jason chattered and Teddy realised what had happened moments before they had had to jump; Jason was strangling him.

He'd intended to kill him.

The glint in his eyes…

"Ted?" Jason asked again, "Did you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll pull you up," Teddy grumbled, using his numb limbs to push himself up and onto Jason's back. His legs and arms didn't feel like his own; in fact they didn't feel like anything at all. Teddy had never been this cold in his life. Somehow, miraculously, he was able to pull himself up onto the slippy boulder, forcing himself to try and stand.

His body felt so heavy and weighted now that he was out of that water, he'd no idea how he'd somehow manage to get Taylor up too.

Should he though?

The man was very open about the fact that he would have killed Teddy back there. What if he pulled Teddy back into the rapids to finish the job?

What if Taylor killed Teddy in his sleep?

Was it worth risking his life to save Taylor's after what happened earlier?

"Ted, help me," Jason choked, struggling to haul his own body up and out of the water, "Ted, I'm slipping,"

Teddy grabbed the back of his wet shirt with both his good and bad arm, using all the might he had left to pull Taylor up onto the boulder with him. He fell to his butt the minute Taylor's leg wormed it's way and he was free of the rapids too, choking up watery sick.

"How's your wrist?" he coughed, looking up at Teddy then.

"I think it's just strained but I wont know till I'm warm again," Teddy chattered, "Where are we?"

"Canada," Taylor shivered, "Come on. We need to find shelter."

For once, Teddy didn't have a witty comeback. He bent down and grabbed Taylor's hand, helping him steady himself on the slippery ledge. The man was incredibly unstable, treacherously making the jump to the shore one slimy rock at a time.

Teddy's own legs were no better and also like jelly, weighed down by his soaking clothes.

"Get your clothes off," Jason chattered, already pulling his shirt off and using it to mop the blood from the cut on his forehead. From this angle it didn't look so bad, Teddy thought, glad Jason was alright. The cold water probably stopped the flow of blood; Teddy remembered his Nana Grace, god bless, telling him something about that when she used to read him adventure stories.

He saw Taylor stripping and did as asked too, pulling off his own shirt and jumper, struggling with his jeans because his fingers were so fucking blue. Jason saw him struggling and so helped him with them and also helped with Teddy's shoes too, provided Teddy helped do the same for him.

The pair were sat in their soaking boxers, shivering badly, jumping around to get the blood flowing again.  
"Fuck," Jason groaned, pulling off his underwear now too and shaking, "Do the same. You'll lose your dick to the cold otherwise."

"Okay but remember it's cold," Teddy tried to joke but Jason seemed to think he was being serious. God that knock to the head must have destroyed what little humour he had in the first place.

"I changed enough of your diapers. I've seen you worse. I'm not judging," he informed him, turning and running as fast as he could get himself going, stopping at a tree and then running back before going again and again, trying to get the blood circulating.

Teddy, however, just stared at his wrist and tried not to move it. He still had the ability to move his fingers so that was good, right?

"Jason? My wrist," he said and the man stopped running. He came back to Teddy's side, still shivering from cold too, "I think I did a bit of damage. Probably whacked it on your head during the fall."

"Right," Jason shivered, "Let's have a look,"

Tenderly, he took Teddy's arm and carefully explored it, checking for any breakages Teddy realised.

"I can't feel anything," Jason said, looking at his numb blue hands, "Okay. Let me make you a sling out of my shirt sleeve. It'll just give you a little support until we get somewhere safe and warmed up, okay?"

"How did they find us?" Teddy asked worriedly, "Was it because of the piano thing?"

"I don't know," Jason admitted, "But they might have seen us getting into the car back at the storage place so it's entirely possible they've been following us since then."

Teddy nodded, then grabbed Jason's shoulder before he walked over to their wet clothes, "Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry. For what I said about Gail," Teddy said, "And fucking Sophie. It was wrong and...and I'm sorry, for all of this."  
Jason blinked, stunned.

He didn't say anything so Teddy continued, "I'm just really scared right now and I know I've been a bad travelling partner. And I know you and I aren't friends but...but I just want to say I'm sorry. And I'm going to try."

When Taylor continued to just stare at Teddy, the young man leant against Jason's chest and pulled him close.

"Wow! Hold on there, Ted-"

That got a reaction from the big bodyguard.

Apparently naked male + naked male was too far for him and he tried to pull away. But Teddy followed him on instinct because, shit, Jason felt so warm. Or at least, he was warmer because he'd done his sprints.

"Jason," Teddy chattered and felt him finally wrap his arms tightly around him and vigorously rub his back.

"Right we need to get moving. You're frozen and acting weird; the Teddy I know doesn't apologise." Jason said, going back to the pile of clothes and ripping off his sleeves to make a sling, "Come on. Let's get moving."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N; I'll apologise if this chapter isn't the best; I'm just getting back into the swing of writing after a turbulent few weeks.**

 **.**

 **Chapter fifteen.**

.

.

There was something to be said about James Reynolds.

Christian knew the man was exceptional but stood next to the bear that was Marine Corps Jason Taylor, the overly confident and narcissistic Navy SEAL Luke Sawyer, and the exceptionally intelligent muscular tank Jonathan Ryans, Reynolds was often side-lined unfairly.

The man was former CIA, built like a marathon runner with nothing remarkable about his appearance in general. Sure, the man was also a third Dan in taekwondo and he'd a sly cunning glint in his eyes but other than that he was incredibly average to behold. It had been a shock when Jason had told Christian he wanted Reynolds on his team.

Yet in the van, Christian now saw why Reynolds was such an asset to the others; he was a chameleon.

Christian had no idea how he'd done it but he'd shape shifted. Somehow he looked different, his shoulders hunched and his posture not his own. He'd adjusted his facial muscles too, slackening them as he became the Irish Thug they'd left back with the cops and Welsh, leaving Gail behind to explain where they were going and what they were up to.

"Are you ready?" Reynolds asked in a thick, nearly perfect, Irish accent.

"Yup," Luke nodded as they pulled into a new lane, entering an area Christian had never explored before, most probably because Jason wouldn't let him stray into such a dangerous area. There were multiple clubs and grungy looking establishments, poverty definitely apparent by the amount of homelessness they'd started to pass. Was this even Seattle? Was this HIS Seattle? He'd never ventured to this side of the city before so it was new territory for him…but oddly enough he didn't feel nearly as nervous as that should make him.

"I'll do the talking. You stay in character at all times," Reynolds added, turning in his seat to stare at Christian now, pulling a cable tie out from the glove compartment. He assumed the position and Reynolds loosely tied his wrists together, leaving enough wriggle room that he could free himself if need be. He then draped Christian's blazer over his arms to hide the binds to make things that little more covert, "We will not leave you alone, Mr Grey."

"I'm not worried," Christian lied, "Lets just get the Sawyer girls and then get my son."

"I promise you I will get you to Teddy," Luke repeated, "I swear."

"You better," Christian mumbled, "Reynolds, what's the plan again?"

"We go in there, offer you to Slick, kill a few people and hopefully find the girls somewhere in that building," Reynolds sighed, "Fuck, this sounds more and more stupid every time I say it aloud."

"How do we know that the girls are even there?" Christian asked, "Or better yet; how do you know that the guys who were hired to go to the trade aren't friends of whoever's working today?"

"Well, I'll give Luke some credit on the latter point," Reynolds said, "In dirty deals, particularly where kidnap is involved for criminal organisations it's traditional for one criminal to give the instructions and another criminal to follow-up on the activity. Different faces for every dealing. Makes exposure less. So the chances are we wont be identified; they'll be expecting a bald man and a dark haired guy."

Luke nodded but he didn't say much, getting himself into the zone.

"As for your former question," Reynolds shook his head, "We don't know that Danni-"

"She's there," Luke piped up hotly, "She's there. This building is owned by this Slick bastard. If he's got prisoners, it'll be in this building and not one of his family's."

"You don't know that," Reynolds growled, "All we're doing here is breaking and entering with our boss, Sawyer."

"They wanted Gail brought to this address. What's to say they don't keep all their hostages there?" Luke snapped, "We're almost there."

Christian looked out the windscreen and took in the surrounding buildings. They were in a district of Seattle which he wasn't familiar with, tallish buildings all around them; perhaps the highest was ten storeys? There were multiple clubs and seedy looking bars open despite how late it was and Christian was sickened to see individual women stood on street corners in scantily dressed clothes.

Was this even Seattle?

"Are those whores?" Christian asked.

"Prostitutes, Sir," Reynolds corrected him, "Victims of the system."

"That's it," Luke called out, parking the van across from a rather nice looking building. IT was one of the tallest in the block, around thirteen storeys, the bottom two occupied by a buzzing nightclub with bright neon pink and purple lights illuminating out onto the street. Two burly men were stood at the door, a queue of punters waiting for entrance into the establishment. It could have been a regular club, had Christian not known it was owned by this Slick Esposito bastard. With that knowledge in mind, Christian wondered what the other floors in the building held, especially if the Esposito family had half the Seattle Police Department on their payroll like Welch said they did.

"Again," Reynolds said, adjusting his hat, "Everyone stay in character. Mr Grey, stay close to Luke and I. For the purposes of today, I am Patrick and Luke is Garth."

"Got it," Luke called, climbing out of the van before going to pull Christian out. He yanked him a little too roughly, causing Christian to trip up slightly as they walked across the road to the club. The music only got louder and Christian was sure he smelt marijuana.

They approached the door and completely skipped the queue much to the waiting customers' disapproval. They were greeted by two massive security guards who put Taylor to shame; they towered over them, both guards bald with one supporting a horrific tattoo on his neck. They looked terrifying and intimidating, so much so that Christian rather fancied offering them a job at GEH's doors to keep the crazies at bay for Taylor.

"Who the fuck are you?" Tattoo guard glared, a hint of a British accent there.

"Patrick and Garth. We've just finished a job for the boss; _Bear Hunt_ ," Reynolds said confidently, but not too confidently; his character was a drug addict after all, one who was about to meet his dealer. His Irish accent was flawless, Christian had to admit. It amazed him how fluently he'd become this character.

The code word ' _Bear Hunt_ ' saw both guards frown and whisper into walkie talkies attached to their jackets. The tattoo guard was the first to move, lifting the red velvet rope to let them pass on into the building. Before Reynolds could step forward, however, the other non-tattooed guard placed a massive paw against Reynold's chest.

"Is that _THE_ Christian Grey?" he asked, glaring down at Christian which was suddenly terrifying. He'd never seen men this big in his life and he missed having Taylor at his side.

"He might be," Sawyer quipped, wrapping an arm around Christian's shoulder securely, "He might not be. It's up to the boss to decide who he is."

In other words; _fuck off_ , Christian thought.

"Go in and wait to be patted down," the tattooed guard snapped, leaning into his Walkie Talkie, "Rod here. Got two junkies wanting to see the boss. Potentially with Christian Grey."

Christian followed Reynolds when they were waved forward, feeling Luke breathing down the back of his neck. He could hear the unmistakable sound of nightclub music pulsating in the room ahead behind a heavy set door, the smell of alcohol, cigarettes and weed stronger now that they'd entered the building.

Reynolds continued to act shifty and anxious, impressing Christian with how much he'd managed to change himself by merely slackening his face and adjusting his body posture and language. Luke Sawyer wasn't so gifted at that. In fact, the beat from the music ahead of them had Sawyer tapping his feet and swaying as they waited to be patted down, under the watchful eye of the tattooed guard.

"Stop it," Reynolds snapped in his Irish accent.

"I can't help it," Sawyer mumbled back, "I've a natural sense of rhythm."

"Well curb it," Reynolds snapped at Luke then, and Christian was oddly reminded of Baloo the bear and the panther from Jungle Book. That had been Teddy's favourite film as a kid; Christian had learnt to play the Bear Necessities on the piano for his little boy.

 _God, Teddy…_

Two more burly men appeared from out of an elevator off to the far side of the lobby, instantly glaring at the three of them. One man was wearing a garish white suit for some ridiculous reason; Christian had never understood why they even made white suits. The other guy had long greasy hair tied back in a ridiculous ponytail. Luke tightened his grip on Christian's shoulder. Usually such contact would terrify Christian but he appreciated feeling Luke's closeness at the given moment.

"Surrender any weapons you're packing," Ponytail said and Reynolds and Luke did exactly that before standing with their arms outstretched to be frisk down individually, taking it in turn to stand beside Christian. Finally, Christian himself required a search but both Ponytail and White Suit seemed satisfied that he didn't have weapons on his person when they saw his cabled tied wrists.

"We want to see the boss," Reynolds growled, going back to Christian, "We have a gift for him."

"You junkies want to see Slick?" White Suit said before he burst out laughing, "That wasn't the deal. The deal was you kill the SEAL and kidnap the women for a kilo of H."

"Deal's changed. This is Christian Grey," Luke grumbled in a low voice, "He was at the exchange instead of the women. We don't know what's going on completely but we do know that this prick is worth more to you than a kilo of H."

That got both men thinking. Ponytail spoke next, being cautious not to give away his facial expressions, "What's he worth to you? Two kilos?"

"We're not looking for drugs now. We're looking for employment with Esposito," Reynolds interrupted, "Take us to Slick and we'll cut a deal with him."

It was utterly delusional to make such a proposition and expect these two sleazy looking bastards to keep their word. Christian knew that Slick, if here, would just laugh and have Reynolds and Luke butchered, keeping Christian himself. But they hoped that before being killed, they would be taken to a holding cell where Danni and the girls would be.

Hopefully.

"Slick's not here just yet. He's on business," Ponytail said now, looking at his colleague with an obvious smirk, "You'll need to come with us upstairs to wait."

"Where's Slick right now?" Reynolds challenged, crossing his arms so that his body language read clearly; _we're not fucking moving until we know where Slick is._

"Business. His choper is about ten minutes away. Come to the waiting room and we'll take Grey to the cells," the White Suit nodded and tried to grab Christian.

Luke instantly intervened however, "Eh eh eh! This is our gift to Esposito. We're staying with Grey. Good business."

"Easy fix," Ponytail shrugged, leading them over to the elevator they'd appeared from earlier. "We'll take you all to the holding cells," he offered, producing a sack from his back pocket which he pulled over Christian's face to blind him of his surroundings.

One of the men entered in a passcode which Christian didn't catch now that he had a bag over his head. Everything was disorientating and the motion of the elevator made his already nervous stomach feel a little queasy now that his vision was disrupted. He'd no idea what floor they'd stopped at but when the door opened he was greeted by a horrible rotting smell.

He gagged behind his cover, Luke gagging too behind him and, quite possibly, being sick. He didn't know for sure, but that's what it sounded like.

"What is this place?" Reynolds frowned, stepping out of the elevator with one of the guards, "It fuckin' stinks!"

"Rotting bodies," Luke whispered to Christian, leading him forward with a tight grip on his wrists.

"It's like a dungeon in here!" Reynolds continued, "Are those prison cells?"

Prison cells?

Christian could see fuck all, but he could smell that vulgar reek and he was aware of everyone's feet on the hard concrete floor. It was causing an echo which was eerie; he couldn't hear anyone else around them.

"You're playing with the big boys now; you want to work with Slick you're going to have to get used to dealing with scumbags," Ponytail said, Christian able to identify his higher pitched voice, "Gotta have a good stomach too; sometimes these scumbags don't talk willingly."

"I've killed before," Reynolds hissed, "I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. How many have you got in here?"

"You ask a lot of questions," White Suit commented, his walkie talkie going off, "Slick's landed," he then mumbled to the Ponytail guy, "We have to secure these guys first."

"I'm keen to impress Slick," Reynolds spat, "We're not pussies. I'm only saying you've got, what, five containment units in this room; how many people you got?"

Luke ignored what Reynolds was saying to the guards, starting to whistle a tune which echoed around the room. Christian wasn't sure why, of all moments, he'd decide to begin whistling now. Surely he should be more focused on Reynolds who was trying to get the information they all wanted; Danni, Eddie and Isla were here.

Suddenly, Christian heard it.

Somewhere, in this large room, someone was whistling back. It was quiet, barely hearable over Reynolds, White Suit and Ponytail's nattering, but Christian heard it as clear as day and judging by how tight Luke was squeezing Christian's shoulder now, he'd heard it too.

"Patrick," Luke called, to Reynolds then in a voice which was cold and deadly, "Danni."

"What?" White suit started but gasped as Reynolds kicked out and swiped his legs from under him. With a loud thump, he landed on the floor and groaned, Christian ripping the bag from his head and sliding his wrists out of his handcuffs just as Reynolds disarmed White Suit.

He looked around the room, taking his surroundings in completely for the first time; they were in a massive empty room with only five rusty blue shipping containment units to be seen. They were locked closed from the outside, two massive latches preventing anyone from inside the units from getting out themselves. There were no other guards, just the two who'd brought them into this room. Luke had ran over towards the one he reckoned he'd heard the whistling coming from, leaving Reynolds to fight.

Ponytail had grabbed for the walkie talkie on his coat, holding it to his mouth as he pressed down the call button, " _ **Emergency; floor six. Back up needed-**_ "

However, with one clean shot to the skull, Ponytail dropped down dead, Reynolds turning his gun next to the confused White Suit lying on the floor. He didn't hesitate before crushing the man's throat with a powerful stomp of his foot in a move which shocked Christian to the core; James Reynolds had crushed a man's windpipe.

 _There truly was something to be said about James Reynolds…_

"Luke; we've got minutes. Grey; catch!"

Reynolds threw the gun to Christian, rummaging in both men's pockets and stealing two smaller side arms and two dangerous looking knives. Christian then turned his attentions to the large shipping containers, watching Luke bang his fists against one desperately.

"Danni? Danni, baby it's me!" Luke called loudly, lifting the second industrial latch and opening the heavy door, a dirty blonde woman lunging from the darkness and falling into his open arms, "Danni, are you hurt?"

"The girls are here," Danni choked, ignoring her husband who was frantically kissing her cheek as well as running his hands over her body for any signs of injury, "They've got our girls."

"I know, I know," Luke nodded, letting Danni go and running to the next unit, "Reynolds, get the other doors! Isla? Eddie? Isla?! Eddie?!"

" _Daddy?"_

"Isla's in this one!" Reynolds shouted as he knocked on a unit, "Isla it's uncle Reynolds; I'm going to get you out. Christian; quickly help. This one's stuck tight!"

" _Uncle Reynolds? We're in here!"_

" _Daddy help us!"_

Christian ran over and helped Reynolds lift the two rusty latches, Sawyer running over too with Danni behind him. The poor woman was beyond dishevelled, her face badly beaten and bloodied, her infamous blonde hair greasy and matted with more blood and sweat. Her trousers were a mess, no doubt from being bound to chairs during hour long interrogations with no bathroom breaks, and her leg was obviously giving her bother as she limped towards this container.

But she was alive.

Christian had never been so glad to see Luke's family in his life.

The door opened with an unhealthy groan, two little girls huddled inside the darkness. The eldest, Eddie, ran into Sawyer's arms whilst little Isla charged for Danni, both sobbing uncontrollably to their parents.

"I told you daddy would come," Danni choked, kissing Eddie's dirty, bloody face, "You're okay. Mommy's here."

"Mom they hurt us," Eddie gasped, her tears marking a path through the blood on her cheeks, "They told us they'd kill dad and aunty Gail and Mrs Grey."

"Not today they will," Luke growled assertively, Eddie going to him next whilst Isla, the poor tike, clung to him like a baby monkey. "It's okay, sweethearts," Luke promised, "Daddy's going to get you out of here," he insisted, looking at Reynolds and then at Christian.

Of course, his plan hadn't involved an exit strategy.

"There's a fire stairwell over in the corner," Reynolds observed, handing Luke one of the handguns as well as a knife, Danni getting the third gun just as the elevator behind them started to move once more; someone was answering Pony Tail's distress call.

"Shit. Fuck. Quick. Run and head upstairs," Reynolds ordered Eddie and Danni, the bald man himself raising his weapon towards the elevator door.

"Isla, honey, this is Uncle Christian," Luke explained, having to physically rip the frightened little girl from around his neck, handing his youngest into Christian's arms.

She began crying in protest, sobbing for her dad or her mommy. But both Luke and Danni needed their hands free to fire their guns. They were more successful marksmen than Christian was, for sure. He knew the couple often went to a shooting range with Taylor, Gail against guns herself.

"It's okay, Isla," Christian cooed, kissing her grubby cheek, "I'm not going to hurt you. We're going to run really fast, okay?"

Isla sobbed but nodded, burying her head into Christian's neck as she shuddered. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, her legs hooking around his waist as she pressed herself up tight against his chest. Oddly enough, his fear for the children overruled his hatred of physical contact. He held out his hand for Eddie but she chose to hold Christian's trouser pocket instead as they ran towards the stairs just as the elevator binged open.

"Kill them!" someone runty kid shouted, Christian looking over his shoulder just as Luke and Reynolds began to fire, "Kill them!"

"Mommy!" Isla screamed right in Christian's ear as the firefight scared her more.

"Mommy's here," Danni promised, gun in hand as she and Christian hurried up the stairs, "Be a brave girl for mommy and daddy."

"Reynolds; moving!" Luke shouted and Christian saw Luke appear at the stairwell door. Once he was securely in place and returning fire once more, Reynolds made to move and passed Luke, running up the stairs at speed and passing Christian, Danni and the kids to lead them forwards, Luke protecting their six.

"Keep moving up!" Reynolds ordered them, "Don't stop!"

Christian held Isla tighter, Eddie's hand still wrapped around his belt as he carried the Sawyer girls up the stairs at an unfaltering pace. He wasn't as fit as he was in his twenties but adrenaline was keeping him going as well as an unprecedented parental instinct to protect these little girls he'd watch grow up in front of his eyes.

"Where are we going?" Danni asked, her limp causing her to struggle and slow down.

"Up," Reynolds growled then cursed suddenly, firing his weapon when two of Esposito's men walked out of the firedoor on this level.

Isla screamed again, Christian feeling the little girl wetting herself in fear.

"Go!" Luke ordered them, pushing them past Reynolds as he took the lead now with his gun risen, Reynolds protecting their back once he'd killed two more of Esposito's men, "Christian, that runt back there, that was Slick Esposito."

"The guy who shouted the order to kill?" Christian clarified.

"Yes," Luke nodded, smiling briefly over his shoulder, "That means his heli is on the roof if he did arrive by helicopter."

Christian knew exactly what the plan was now; get to the roof where Christian could use his years of aircraft training and fly them out of here provided he could get the thing air-born. If the thing had fuel. If the thing was large enough to carry everyone. If they didn't get shot down between take off and escaping. If he could actually work the controls.

There were so many fucking 'if's' but they'd nothing else to lose, right?

"…Shit Luke," Christian laughed, as they sped up the stairs, "How the fuck do you manage to get away with this sort of shit?"

"I'm a SEAL; we think on our feet," Luke smirked then jumped suddenly as the lights in the stairwell went out.

"Daddy!" Eddie gasped, Christian feeling the eldest daughter wrapping her arms around him in fright.

"It's okay guys, don't panic," Luke instructed, his face lit green by the emergency lighting, "We're going to the roof, come on; only four more flights to go-Fuck! Get back."

In the dark, gunfire was utterly terrifying. Luke was firing his gun and being shot at, the sudden flash of spark caused by the guns lighting up the stairwell for a mere second. Christian wrapped himself around the girls; there was no way any of the men knew where to shoot in such a dimly lit room.

Danni ran past Christian, holding up the hand gun Reynolds had given her earlier and firing relentlessly beside her husband, "Stay. Away. From. My. Fucking. Family!" she screamed, firing bullet upon bullet whilst Reynolds stood dutifully with his back to the action, protecting their rear whilst breathing heavily.

"Fucking cunts!" Danni screamed, Christian looking over his shoulder at four slumped bodies and two panting Sawyers, "Come on!" Danni ordered, "I'm so fucking done with this shit!"

"I'm so turned on right now," Luke joked, slapping her ass as he shoved the bodies out of the way so Christian and the girls could pass, "Reynolds, can you take the front?"

Reynolds scurried past Luke, gun out as he overtook Danni and continued leading the way, the green glow of the emergency lights bouncing off his sweaty scalp as he past them. Or was that blood? Christian couldn't tell if the man was profusely sweating or had been hurt.

"You're doing great, Eddie," Luke promised his little girl as she past, going to her mother's back now as she hurried over the bodies of the Esposito thugs.

"How are you holding up?" Christian asked Luke before looking down and seeing the man was clutching his side, blood oozing from a bullet wound.

Sawyer was hit.

Shit!

"It's just a graze," Luke lied with a weak, pained, smile, "Get my kids out of here, Christian."

"I promise," Christian nodded, holding Isla's head in against his neck so she couldn't see her injured father leaning against the wall.

"Calvin Smith," Luke said through gritted teeth as he walked forward after his family, "Jason's brother. Calvin Smith. He lived in Canada as a lawyer. I bet my dick he's going there."

"But that would endanger his family," Christian frowned.

"Calvin's not biologically related to him," Luke laughed, "It's a long story but Calvin was Jason's best friend; his rock. Get Welch to run a search on Calvin Smith, qualified lawyer, ties to Canada and from the same town as Jason. Welch'll get you that information."

"Luke?" Reynolds called form up ahead.

"We've got your six," Luke shouted back as they hurried to catch up, hearing the sound of Esposito's men entering the stairwell behind them, "Run faster guys!"

Christian caught up with Danni and Eddie, following Reynolds closely whilst still cradling the terrified Isla. It was getting harder to run and he was feeling his calves beginning to quiver with every single step. However, the floors were flying past and eventually they made it to the roof top exit, Reynolds only having to shoot two guards in the process.

Luke, however, was behind them and firing his weapons more freely, but Christian couldn't stop to help, nor could Danni. The mission was to get to the heli, with the Sawyer girls, and escape, then find this Calvin Smith's home, then find Teddy.

It almost seemed easy when Christian thought about it logically.

"The minute I open this door, we're in trouble. Danni, cover my back while I sweep," Reynolds explained quickly, wiping the blood from his brow whilst Eddie let go of her mother and clutched Christian's belt hoop again, "Grey; when I say go, you follow us but not until I say 'Go.', understood?"

"Yes," Christian nodded, rubbing Isla's back softly as Reynolds kicked open the door, running forward in a crouched whilst Danni covered him.

"Where's Dad?" Eddie asked Christian, the sound of gunfire on the roof making the three of them jump, particularly when it was mingled with the sound of gunfire from below wherever Luke was.

"He's keeping you safe," Christian said firmly, taking her hand, "He loves you both very much, okay? He wants us to get you to safety," he added then looked up when he heard Reynolds give the all clear.

"Go!"

Christian ran forward with Eddie beside him, trying to shield Isla from the numerous bodies lying in the wake of Reynolds.

"I'm out of bullets," Reynolds panted, throwing his gun to the floor as he searched the bodies for weapons he could use, "The heli…it's over there with Danni," he gulped, "Fuck I'm fucked."

Christian's eyes fell upon Slick Esposito's helicopter and, fuck him, he nearly came it his pants.

A Eurocopter EC130 B4.

The same as Charlie Fucking Tango was.

This model was black and silver with a red vinyl logo along the side and red rotor blade. Danni was crouched over the body of a man wearing an ugly fawn suit, blood stained through his short and even his tie. She fished in his pockets, hunting for keys by the looks of things.

"I've found the keys for the door but not the actual thing itself," she admitted.

"It's okay," Christian assured her, opening the door and practically chucking Isla in, Eddie jumping and huddling with her sister, "There's switches."

Reynolds hurried over next, carrying an AK47 he'd somehow managed to find on the person of one of the Thugs which he and Danni had miraculously managed to bring down without injury. Or at least, that's what Christian though until he realised that Reynolds had been hit in the arm, blood running down his hand and dripping onto the floor at an alarming rate, "Can you fly this?"

"Yup; it's the same model as CT," Christian informed him, pulling the headset on and turning to the girls in the back, "Buckle up."

"Where's Sawyer?" Reynolds asked, helping Danni into the copter next, looking towards the door hopefully.

"He was behind me but there was a lot of gun shots; he's been hit in the side," Christian admitted, hearing the familiar sound of the rotor blades beginning to whirl. God he'd missed flying, having promised Ana that he'd stop after taking their six year old son up in a glider which nearly killed them both.

"Where's Luke?" Danni piped up, looking at Reynolds for answers.

"Daddy's not here!" Isla cried out loud, "Uncle Reny!"

"Shit. Shit shit shit shit!" Reynolds snapped, handing Danni the menacing looking assault rifle and pulling a small hand gun from his waist, "Fucking SEAL asshole. I fucking told him this was a suicide mission! Grey get this fucking thing airborn while I go get that fucking cunt!"

That was the most Christian had ever heard the bald CPO swear, watching as he turned and ran back towards the door, weapon drawn up high as he entered. He turned back to his attention back to the panels, running through the safety checks as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Normally he'd make sure everyone had their seatbelt on but he didn't have time, nor did he care tremendously as he tried to alter the frequency of the radio.

"Mayday, mayday," he called into the mouth piece, "This is Christian Grey of Grey Enterprise and Holdings. I am requesting immediate permission to fly and land at Sea-tac. I repeat, requesting permission for immediate flight. Mayday, mayday, may-"

He jumped in his seat when Danni suddenly fired the rifle towards the rooftop door, Reynolds a few yards ahead all but dragging a very bloody and weary Luke towards the helicopter.

"Get away from my husband!" Danni screamed as loudly as the gun was being, firing entirely at the door to stop their enemies from spilling out onto the roof and destroying the helicopter before they'd even had a chance.

"There's not enough seats," Eddie suddenly panicked.

"Fuck the seats," Christian snapped, "Hurry up, Sawyer! We're ready to go!"

With immense effort, Luke threw himself onto the floor of the heli, gasping in agony as he dragged himself out of Reynold's way. The bald guard began to fire his weapon in the same direction as Danni was firing the rifle.

"Get us out of here!" Reynolds demanded as the helicopter began to rise, "there's at least another seven men there trying to get out and two have AK47s too!"

"Fucking hell," Luke coughed, managing to pull himself into the seat beside Christian, out of Reynold and Danni's way but also out of his kids views. The man looked like utter shit, his clothes saturated with blood and his face ripped open with knife wounds.

"What the fuck happened?" Christian snapped, trying to concentrate on the take-off but unable to take his eyes away from Luke's battered body.

"I got too close in the dark," Luke admitted, "I'm okay but one of those ugly bastards pulled a knife," he groaned, "I think I need medical assistance," he added as Christian took them higher and higher, Danni still firing relentlessly until the gun's ammunition ran out.

"Way ahead of you, Luke," Christian nodded, speaking into the microphone again, "Mayday, mayday, this is Christian Grey piloting a EC130 B4.. Can anyone hear me? We are Sea-tac inbound, requiring emergency services on landing. Is someone fucking listening to me?! Over."

"Hey Reynolds?" Luke laughed with obvious strain.

"Don't fucking say it," Reynolds gasped, Christian watching as the bald guard attempted to make a bandage for his arm out of Danni's shirt sleeve, "I swear to god, Sawyer, if you dare fucking say what I know you're going to say I will chuck you out this fucking thing. Don't. Do. IT."

"….told you my plan would work."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen.**

 **.**

 **Six years ago….**

 **Grey mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle**

.

.

Ana would never un-see the image before her; it would haunt her for the rest of her life. No mother should ever have to witness a twelve year old hanging by the throat in their garden.

No one should.

"Stephen!" Jason was shouting, running at full speed towards that horrible, dangerous, tree in the centre of their garden. Phoebe described it as the Fairy tree and often left the Fairies little treats which the Security men would take and replace with 'magic' stones and notes for the little Grey-let. They'd decided for Phoebe that they would leave the Christmas lights up in the tree a little longer and, occasionally, they would switch them on without warning before Phoebe went to bed to encourage her to believe in fairies and princesses that little bitty longer.

For Phoebe's imagination, they'd kept the tree longer than either parent had wanted.

Had they just chopped it down sooner, however, maybe Ana wouldn't be watching this horrific sight before her.

"See mommy! Stephen's dangling," Phoebe called from the patio and Ana's heart broke; her little girl was witnessing this horror show too.

"Go inside to the security room," Ana demanded, unable to make her tone soft. It was harsh and nasty, Ana was sure, and she hated herself for allowing her emotions to take control in that moment, "Get inside now, Phoebe, and tell Ryan that there's an emergency and he needs to call an ambulance."

Phoebe pouted and stumbled away to get help.

Ana's head snapped to where Jason was approaching the tree at speed, pulling off his sling and chucking it at Teddy.

 _Oh god Teddy…_

Even with his broken wrist, Jason threw himself up the trunk of the tree like a determined monkey, the momentum of his sprint meaning he all but ran up to the top, slightly sturdier, branches. Ana had never seen the bear like man look so quick and so nimble, running herself over to her sobbing, shaking, screaming son as he stared in horror at the body of his friend, caught in the top branches and hanging by a goddamn dog leash wrapped around his throat like a noose.

To her horror, she saw Teddy was yet to remove his own, ripping it over her son's head and throwing it towards the two dogs lying obediently in the shade of the house; the Taylors Bulldog, Lesley and Elliot and Kate's Lab, Lucky.

"I told you never to climb the tree!" Ana shouted at Teddy, she couldn't help it. A child was hanging in her garden.

A child was dead in her garden.

In the future, Ana was sure she would regret her anger at her son but the panic of the moment overwhelmed her, "I told you to never climb this tree Teddy!"

"I tried to tell him, I tried…mom…I…" Teddy sobbed, looking back up at his hanging friend, "Stephen! Wake up!"

Jason was reaching the higher branches but his weight was causing difficulty; Ana watched with bated breath as he kept snapping and falling, grabbing at stronger branches with his broken wrist and shouting out in agony as he neared Stephen.

"Stephen!" he shouted, "RYAN!"

As if by magic, Ryan appeared beside Ana, "Phoebe's with Gail," he told her instantly, looking up as Jason tried to free the lead which had caught in the top branches. The motion was causing Stephen to rock and Ana felt Teddy being sick beside her.

Ana didn't even know if he was dead or not.

She tightened her grip on Teddy's shoulders, digging her nails into his skin to be sure she held him extra tightly, trying to angle her body infront of his line of sight so he didn't see more. What if that had been her son disobeying the house rules and climbing with a fucking noose around his throat…the thought made her sick with…sick with…

God she didn't know.

She was devastated.

She was sick.

She was furious.

She was heartbroken.

She had no idea how she was feeling in this current moment; She was all awash with painful emotions which were now rendering her utterly speechless.

"I can't get the leash off!" Jason snapped, standing on the branch and beginning to try and break it with his weight.

"T, what do I do?!" Ryan shouted up at him.

"Catch!" Jason shouted, kicking the branch one last time where the leash was caught and snapping it at last.

Stephen's body fell into Ryan's arms; Jason's body fell through the branches and onto the grass.

"Taylor," Teddy cried as Ryan laid Stephen down and removed the dog leash-noose from his neck, "Make him breathe!"

With effort, Jason crawled over, his broken arm limp against his chest, "Is there a pulse?"

"I can't find one, Jason," Ryan admitted softly, "How long was he hanging?"

"I don't know," Jason panted, looking up at the tree, "Phoebe came for us. Couldn't have been more than three minutes. Is there an ambulance coming?"

"One's on the way but…" Ryan cursed lowly, shaking his head and looking up at Ana, "Mrs Grey, get Teddy inside."

"No!" Teddy screamed, "I'm not going. You can't. Jason, do something!"

"Teddy," Jason said firmly, "Go in-"

"No!" Teddy shouted, ripping himself out of Ana's firm grip and trying to get to his friend's body, "No! I want to stay with-"

"Theodore. In," Jason snarled, all but shoving Teddy back towards the house with his one good arm. He then turned and shouted furiously at Ana when she herself didn't move, frozen to the stop at the sight of little Stephen lifeless on their lawn, his head limp in Ryan's hands, "Get him inside now and call Welch and Grey! Move, Ana!"

His tone frightened Ana; Jason never yelled with such aggression towards anyone, but then she saw that his eyes were filling with tears.

Jason Taylor had tears welling in his eyes, which was when Ana knew. Like a burning punch to the stomach, she knew there was nothing Ryan or Jason could do.

In that horrible moment she realised that Little Stephen, her son's best friend in the whole world, a little boy who had very much become a second son to herself and her husband, was gone.

.

.

 **Present day,**

 **01:48,**

 **Warming up in the cabby of a truck,**

 **Canada,**

.

"It's rare for a bear attack," Paul said, turning the heater on in his truck cabby when he saw Jason shiver, "Good thinking jumping into the water though, ay?"

"Yeah for sure," he stammered, trying to play up his Texan accent again whilst shivering violently. Plus his head was utter agony. He must have really hit it hard on the fall into the river; it was utterly throbbing right now and making him really travel sick now.

Both he and Teddy had rid themselves of their clothes, burying them to hide their trail from Slick's men when they came searching for evidence of their deaths. For an hour they'd staggered through thick growth until they came upon a road. Nervous of Slick's men, they'd lingered in the growth but followed the track, butt naked and shivering which was when Truck Driver Paul had passed. A gallant balls-a-swinging run from Jason had seen Paul pull over and offer them a lift; god bless the Canadian spirit.

Jason pulled his blanket tighter around his chest, thankful Paul was a big man. The boxer shorts he'd given Jason and Teddy actually fitted him and so did the shirt. Teddy's was miles too big but he was happy and clothed, sleeping against Jason's chest with Jason's arm draped over him.

"We shouldn't have been hiking this late," Jason shrugged, then winced at the movement causing his head to pulse, "Maybe we wouldn't have gotten so lost."

"Texan?" Paul asked.

"Yeah, small town Texas close to San Antonio," Jason replied.

"Redneck?" Paul laughed, "I don't know my Southern states that well."

"I wouldn't say so. Where I'm from, yeah they're pretty traditional," Jason said with a laugh, though it was incredibly forced as he allowed himself to think of home; of Calvin and his family.

Of his depressed mother and violent grandfather.

He felt a stabbing pain in his back as he remembered the unrelenting beating he'd gotten from Grandpa when he'd discovered Jason had befriended the local black boy. They'd starved him, read him passages from a book –he didn't know what it had been but it was certainly not his bible, not his god- to convince him that Calvin was less than a man to Jason before they'd bet him bloody.

His breathing hitched a little as he remembered his childhood; it wasn't a part of his life he willingly recalled. Gail didn't even-

Gail.

Oh god Gail.

Where was Gail? Had she had the surgery? Was she recovering? Was she alive? Was she receiving chemo? Would she survive?

Teddy tightened his grip on him curiously, looking up at him with confusion, "You all right? You're breathing a lot."

Fuck Teddy had woken up and noticed the tears in Jason's eyes, he was sure.

"Yeah," Jason shrugged before looking in Paul's direction, "Thank you again for this lift."

"It's no worries," Paul promised, "Nearest town's about fifteen minutes away."

"That would be perfect," Jason nodded, wiping his eyes with the palm of his hand.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Teddy pressed now that he was awake, sitting up and leaning against the cab window, "One hundred percent?"

"Leave it, Teddy," Jason growled lowly, clearing his throat as he focused his attention not on how shit a fucking husband he was for not being with Gail and rather back on his anger at this entire clusterfuck.

"No need to grumble," Teddy mumbled, shaking his head and glaring out of the window again.

Ah fuck.

Maybe it was the whack to the head but Jason had the beginnings of one hell of a migraine. It wasn't Teddy's fault. Well, it was, but his intentions hadn't been to fuck up this bad. Everyone had been young and stupid before, everyone had made mistakes with dire consequences. Jason knew that for an absolute fact. He'd fucked his way through half of San Diego because Civilians loved the uniform, the sense of danger and allure he offered them and he preyed on it.

When he'd been younger, saying he'd slept with fifty women had been a trophy to him; as an adult, with his own daughter, he realised how disgustingly he'd treated women and was ashamed of his sleazy ways. Grey thought he was a fucking machine? Pffft the guy was a weak shit compared to what Jason had gotten himself into.

Perhaps the worst had been sleeping with a married woman. He'd slept with many married women but they were almost all married in the process of divorce. One woman, however, had been actively married and her husband had walked in to Jason tying her up for a little bit of fun. The rest of the night was a blur, of course alcohol had been involved, but he'd ended up in a cell for the night to sober up, Calvin and his commander coming down to give him the bollocking of a lifetime.

When you're young, however, thinking comes second to the party.

"There we go," Paul smiled, pulling up at a motel and parking, "Have you got money?"

"No, we don't," Jason sighed, then smiled when Paul pulled out his wallet and handed Jason the contents, "I will pay you back."

"Ah don't worry about it," Paul promised, handing them more clothes from the back of his cab, "Here."

"I've got your truck registration plates; I'll find you," Jason promised, "And I will pay you back."

"Unless you're going to buy me a holiday to Hawaii for my silvery anniversary, it's fine," Paul laughed.

Teddy laughed too; Christian Grey would buy this truck driver his own island for his act of kindness to his son and number one man.

Together, they jumped out of the cab onto socked feet. Jason tugged up his jeans, adjusting his junk as Teddy joined him.

"Sorry for snapping," he said, deciding to cut Teddy a break. They were both sore and cold and exhausted so there was no reason to add to the animosity between them when they were each feeling like shit.

"It's fine, Cowboy," Teddy shrugged, his jeans far too big for him, "How's the head?"

"Agony," Jason admitted, walking over towards the motel reception to try and wrangle a room for the night. Now he was warmer and on his feet he could feel every bruise and cut and ding from the journey down the river, "Yourself?"

"I'm alright actually. Bursting for the loo though," Teddy admitted, walking inside the wooden building. It was very warm and cosy and actually reminded Jason more of being home in Texas than it did Canada; there were wood carving animals all over the place, taxidermy birds too just like Old Mr Thomas used to make out of roadkill for Christmas presents.

The woman behind the reception was welcoming and friendly and noticed that Jason and Teddy looked to be in some sort of trouble. When Jason offered her the cash for a room, she insisted that it was fine, that it was a quiet spell and that as long as they didn't make a mess they could sleep for free.

The act of kindness saw Jason's eyes beginning to betray him again, tears filling his eyes once more as he took the key and led Teddy towards their room for the night. Like the rest of the building, it was traditional and a little dated; there were two single beds, thank god, but the bed linen looked scratchy and was a garish pink.

Gail would hate this, especially the carpet in the bathroom.

Gail…

Jason heard Teddy excuse himself to said dated bathroom which was fine by him. It meant that he could sit on his bed by the door and comfort himself in peace. It seemed like months ago since he'd last held Gail but the reality was it hadn't been all that long. He'd been coming home with her from the doctors. She'd reached for him in the car. They'd had sex. Then, instead of staying with her in their room, their safe place, he'd had to go baby sit Teddy.

He'd had to do his job, when his wife had needed him most.

His eyes cast the phone between both the beds and it took every ounce of Jason's strength not to try and use it to call Gail's mobile.

 _What if she didn't make it through the surgery and was dead?_

No, she wouldn't be dead, Jason wouldn't believe it. He wouldn't let her be dead. He'd end his life before losing another loved one prematurely.

 _But what if she was dead though? He'd never know up here…_

NO!

He grabbed his beard, his hair, his ears, and tugged as the tears kept falling and falling. His head was utter agony and it was making him feel dizzy and sick again. He looked over at the occupied bathroom and groaned, shivering as he fought through the nausea, the tears, the sudden overbearing panic that Gail was dead and he didn't know.

' _Boys don't cry,'_

He heard his father's voice echoing in his ears, the last thing daddy had said before dying in 'Nam when Jason had begged him not to leave. Begged him to stay forever with mommy, Trevor and Jennilynn.

The toilet flushed and Jason heard the window being open before the door.

"Jason?" Teddy frowned, fixing his belt as he walked over and knelt in front of Jason, "What's going on with you?" he asked worriedly. Jason grabbed his forehead and bent forward in pain, "Taylor?"

"Nothing," he choked, "Bathroom free?"

"Eh, I'd give it two minutes," Teddy admitted, grabbing Jason's arm when he tried to pass despite the warning, "Hey, you're crying."

"Drop it, Teddy," Jason growled, feeling sick again, "Let me go."

"Tell me what's wrong," Teddy demanded, grabbing tightly onto Jason's shoulders now and holding him tightly, forcing the Marine to stand before him and stare at the younger man through tear stained eyes, "Tell me."

"Let me go for fuck sake, I-I-I need to go home," Jason gasped, panicking. He looked at the door and trying to work out how he could get back to Seattle with seventy five Canadian Dollars and no car, "I need to go home to Gail."

"What's wrong with Gail?" Teddy frowned, shaking Jason's shoulders but Jason just wanted to go, he wanted his wife. He was scared he was losing her; that he'd already lost her and didn't know.

He was so terrified of being alone.

When Calvin had died he'd been alone and he couldn't bear to be in that same place again if he lost Gail. He'd kill himself this time if that happened. Oh Gail please don't be dead…please god no…

"Taylor? Look at me. Taylor-Jason! Jason, look at me right now," he demanded, grabbing Jason's jaw and forcing him to look back at Teddy. His head was aching, his stomach rolling and the tears kept falling as he panicked, "Jason, what's the matter."

"Gail has a brain tumour," Jason choked, his face crumpling as he slumped against the wall, grabbing his forehead, "I can't-I can't do this. I need to go home. I need home."

"Jason, calm down," Teddy tried again, "Jason, it's okay calm down. Calm-"

Jason vomited up the powerbar the trucker had given him, hitting Teddy square on the chest. His eyes rolled and the world went black as he fell backwards.

"Jason? Shit!"

.

.

 **Meanwhile…**

 **Swedish Emergency Room,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington State.**

.

"You're looking well, Ryan," Ana complimented, smiling at the adorable bodyguard who'd taken a bullet for her husband. Considering he'd had a bullet to the throat, he was awake and able to smile briefly at his guests, "We're going to London soon."

Ryan nodded subtly, giving her a thumbs up as he tried to sleep a little more.

She smiled and stroked his hand gently, making sure his Pikachu plushy was close. Because of the family lock down plans Jason and her husband had planned for moments like this, Ryan's long term girlfriend Nora wasn't able to come home from Japan to see her injured man. She'd sent him a Pokemon toy, however, and Ana, Gail and Phoebe had gotten teary at the sight of Ryan's eyes light up.

"How is he?" Gail asked, coming in to the room with a cup of coffee and a cup of tea.

"Doing well," Ana nodded, "Has Welch told you anything?" she asked.

Since Gail had gotten back to the hotel and told Ana what Sawyer intended to do with Reynolds and Christian, Welch was refusing to let either woman know what had happened. It was terrifying; Christian could be dead for all Ana knew. She couldn't believe her husband had agreed to go into the Esposito's lair.

"He's cursing Sawyer," Gail shrugged, "But he's not telling me anything either."

Ana stroked Ryan's hair softly, looking up when Phoebe came into the room accompanied by Welch and one of Welch's new guards, Thompson. Thompson pulled out a bug sweeper and began to check the room for listening devices for the twentieth time tonight alone.

"Hey mom; how's Ryan?" Phoebe asked.

"Doing really well, Phoebe," Ana promised, wrapping her arm around her youngest, "Really really good considering. We should all be moving to London tonight."

"Is it bad to be excited?" Phoebe asked curiously, "I'm worried to death for Tay and Teddy but I've never seen London."

"It's good to see the silver linings," Gail said from across the room, giving Phoebe that brave smile of hers. Ana couldn't imagine how scared the Little Woman was at the prospect of undergoing brain surgery without her husband or even her sister to be there. It was truly an inspiration to Ana, "You'll love London, Phoebe."

"I hope so," Phoebe smiled, "I feel guilty for leaving the boys but I know it's what they would want; us safe somewhere Esposito can't find us."

"That's right," Welch said from the door, looking at Ana then, "Mrs Grey, can I have a word outside?"

"Of course," Ana nodded, "Phoebe, Ryan really likes having his hair rubbed. Do you think you could do that for him?"

"Of course, mom," Phoebe replied, taking Ana's seat and comforting the man who'd saved her father's life without a second thought at all.

Welch was an ex-military man, reminding Ana of her own father and also a little of Jason. He was only a little taller than Ana, lean with a slight old-man belly forming. His hair was predominantly black but silver flecked, particularly at the sides. He was a smoker too, Ana had often seen him lighting up a cigar in times of stress, but ultimately he was a very good man and her husband had used Welch's Security Agency throughout his own career. Heck, Welch was who found Christian Jason.

"Any word?" Ana asked softly.

"Yes," Welch nodded, "It's good news too; everyone's okay and getting better. Sawyer's got two gunshot wounds and a nasty knife wound to the face but nothing life threatening and the girls are, rightfully so, traumatised. Danni's got a fracture to her leg somewhere- I've only heard bits and pieces from Reynolds."

"When are they coming back here?" Ana frowned, "Where are they?"

"The girls are inbound," Welch said sheepishly

"Welch; where is my husband?" Ana glared.

Welch looked around the corridor, spotted two of the SPD stood keeping guard of Seattle's most influential family. Although the police were heading the operation and organising a trial for Slick Esposito, they still needed Teddy and Jason alive long enough to give eyewitness testimonies that it was in fact Slick Esposito who Teddy had witnessed murder that man on the camera recording, and they also needed Jason's secondary statement that he'd witnessed Esposito in the vicinity of the murder and had been shot at under Slick's orders. The power of the Esposito family, however, matched that of the Grey's. They had their finger in multiple pies, Reynolds had told Ana, and so allowing the Police to involve themselves in the mission to find Teddy and Jason was condemning them to death.

Welch's men were civilians; but they were ex-service men and private detectives from all over America; men who Christian had worked for in the past and who could be trusted. They were heading the operation and working with only specific members of the police force whom they trusted. Knowing and passing over information was like dancing on eggshells; Ana didn't dare say her son's name allowed outside Ryan's hospital room where she, Gail and Phoebe had decided to camp. It felt safer to all be in one room, particularly one room which was continually being swept for listening devices.

Welch leant in tight to Ana, pressing his lips directly over her ear. If Christian walked in right this moment he'd have a stroke she was sure. Welch wasn't an ugly man, just an older man. Though he did reek of cigar smoke and coffee.

"They think they know where… _they_ …are going," Welch said firmly, "Once Thompson gives me the nod, we're going to have a discussion in Ryan's room and I need to ask you and Mrs Taylor some questions. I'm sorry it's so late at night but I need as much information as possible."

Questions?

Information?

Ana nodded and, ten minutes later, she found herself in Ryan's room with Gail and Welch. Phoebe went with Thompson and another security guard, Stonehouse, to get a shower in the family bathroom.

"What's going on?" Gail asked first.

"Don't worry; the boys are all right," Welch insisted, "They're doing fine. Sawyer's been hurt but I'm assured his injuries aren't life threatening. They got the girls and are all heading to hospital…but Grey, Sawyer and Reynolds are not coming to this hospital; I can't tell you where they're going."

"What do you mean they're not coming here?" Ana frowned angrily, "Christian is not staying in Seattle alone; he's a target. Ryan nearly died. Had he not shielded Christian I wouldn't have a husband. If any one of us is staying for Teddy it should be me; I'm his mother!"

"They think they know where Teddy and Jason are heading," Welch said lowly, "They're going to a hospital for Sawyer to get stitched and heading together, alone, to the location; they're not going to stop in Seattle and they're not coming here; it's not safe."

"I can't believe this," Ana growled, "So they're sneaking away?"

"Sneaking," Welch nodded, "Mr Grey told me to tell you that he loves you."

"Fuck off Welch," Ana snapped, furious, "I'm not going to London without my husband."

"You will because that will free up the men I need to help your son," Welch said firmly, "Once you, Ryans, Mrs Taylor and Phoebe are safely relocated, I can help your son and Taylor more effectively."

"Where are they heading?" Gail asked now, before Ana lost her temper completely, "Where are they going?"

"Has your husband ever spoken to you about a Calvin Smith?" Welch asked Gail curiously, "Do you know anything about him at all?"

"Calvin?" Gail frowned, "I don't know a lot; Jason doesn't like talking about him."

"What do you know?" Welch asked, pulling out a notepad, "Anything can be helpful."

"He was a lawyer," Gail nodded, "He's black. I know Jason was fond of his mother and father and sister," she said, Ana able to see she was really having to work hard to remember, "He died before Sophie was born; a car crash I think. He kept his speech from the funeral in his safe."

"How close was Jason to Calvin?" Welch pressed.

"I don't honestly know, Welch," Gail admitted, "Jason doesn't like talking about his childhood. He was abused."

"Jason was abused?" Ana frowned.

"He was," Gail nodded, "I don't like to pry because I know how hard Jason worked to overcome his demons; his childhood, his ex-wife. We decided when he married that we wouldn't live in the past and make our wedding a fresh start. I honestly don't ask him about Calvin or Dolly or his parents…It hurts him too much. I'm so sorry Welch."

"Do you know if Calvin had property in Canada?" Welch asked with an irritated tone, Ana watching him look at Gail in disbelief, "You really don't know anything about your husband's past friends?"

"Honestly I really don't," Gail admitted, "You have to remember that Jason was…is…a military man. He's not a talker and never has been, no matter how hard I try with him. He's very traditional and it can cause a lot of heated arguments between us; a man's a man, a woman's a woman. He will not cook for himself and expects me to cook for him…but in return he will do all the odd jobs around the house without being prompted. The mere thought of being anything less than an Alpha male to me, to allow me to see him vulnerable, disgusts Jason. He is my protector, in his mind. So no, Welch. I don't know a thing about my husband's childhood or my husband's past life because for him to tell me would be, in his mind, the ultimate emasculation. I know about his current life and his future life but other than that, no. I can't say that I honestly know anything about Calvin other than he was exceptionally dear to my husband; dear enough to be deemed too painful a memory for him to share with me."

Welch nodded and looked at his watch, "We believe that Taylor is taking Teddy to property in Canada which was owned by Calvin."

"Then lets go!" Ana interrupted.

"Sawyer, Reynolds and Grey are going, Anastasia," Welch insisted, "And once I get you to London, safely, we will be going to help them. Until then, only myself, Sawyer, Reynolds and Grey know where Jason is going."

"Welch," Ana groaned, "How can you know it's safe for them?"

"It's not safe; but the less people who know where they're going, the better. Which is why I'm not even going to tell you, just like I'm not telling anyone other than your travel companions where in London you will be kept," Welch insisted, "I need you to cooperate, for Mr Grey's benefit, and trust his and his security advisors decisions."

"And Christian is with Reynolds and Sawyer. They're safe right now?" Ana pressed.

"They are," Welch nodded, "They checked Sawyer in using a different identity and signed him out the minute he was fit to move. His wounds weren't life threatening," he repeated, "By the time you and Gail and Ryan and Phoebe are settled, we'll be providing the back-up Christian needs and assisting the authorities in pushing for a court case against Slick. Until then, we don't want to advertise their whereabouts."

"Is there anyway to contact them?" Gail then asked.

Welch laughed and shook his head, "Gail, we're practically communicating by carrier pigeons," he explained, "We're limiting all communications to the bare minimum and even then we're talking in code. It's a lengthy process, a serious pain in the balls too. We're almost certain Esposito has his men monitoring our calls. They have the power to track us, much like how Grey has the ability to track who he wants too."

"Right, okay, fine," Ana sighed, smiling when Phoebe came back with her wet hair braided to the side, "Hey, honey."

"Hi, mom," Phoebe smiled, sitting on the cot she'd claimed as a bed in Ryan's room, "Hi Mr Welch."

"Hey, honey," Welch waved, "How are you keeping?"

"I'm good. Starting to really miss Teddy," Phoebe admitted, "When are we going to London?"

"Tomorrow if Ryan gets the okay to fly," Welch said and stood, "I'll leave you ladies to it. Ryan's a lucky guy with all the female attention he's getting."

"Of course he's getting attention," Gail smiled, looking fondly at the younger CPO, "He's a hero."

"He is that," Welch agreed, looked at Ana one last time and then left, leaving Thompson and Stonehouse stood outside Ryan's room to protect Ana, Gail and Phoebe as they slept on their makeshift beds. It wasn't the comfiest of options but it was where they felt safest.

And right now, all Ana, Phoebe and Gail could do was keep themselves safe for the benefit of Christian, Teddy and Jason.

.

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **on route to Canada,**

 **nearing the boarder**

 **.**

"Dude! Speed bumps," Sawyer growled, holding his freshly stitched side, "For fuck sake."

"I'm trying," Christian huffed, "It's been a long time since I drove anything this basic."

"Basic? This is a Toyota. It's one of the most popular American cars on the market," Sawyer pointed out, "It's not basic; you're elitist."

"Tomato, tomato," Christian shrugged and deliberately swerved into another speed bump or pothole or whatever the fuck it was. Luke groaned and held his side tighter, looking over to where Reynolds was sound asleep, exhausted from doing a proper day's work. How the bastard could sleep on this roadtrip blew Luke's mind.

"So Calvin; who is he to Jason?" Christian asked, turning down the radio and looking in the rearview to where Luke had sprawled himself out in the back in an attempt to sleep off the pain of his injuries.

"Calvin? He was Jason's bestfriend before me," Luke shrugged, "They've got a lot of history; Jason's military graduation photos are all with Calvin's family and not his own. They were brothers by choice."

"What happened to him?" Christian pressed.

"Car accident," Luke nodded, "About a year after Calvin's mom died. He was a Lawyer, and he was about to start helping Jason escape his ex-wife with the baby before he'd died. The place we're going, the place Welch has tracked us, I think is the Safe House Calvin intended to move Jason and Sophie into before the trial to bring Dolly to justice for how she treated Jason."

"Geeez," Christian whistled, "So was that Calvin's specialty? Domestic incidents?"

"Yeah I reckon so. Jason spoke a lot about him before he moved to Seattle," Luke nodded, "A lot of drunken therapy sessions with me. Cal was very…influenced by Jason's childhood and he did a lot of seriously nasty child abuse cases, and domestic abuse too. Suppose it would influence you to see your bestfriend suffer, huh."

"True; did you ever meet Calvin?" Christian asked curiously.

"No, he died about three weeks before I meet Jason," Luke said, stretching out with a sigh, "I don't know much about him, but I probably know more about him than anyone else Jason's been in contact with the last few years."

"When were you going to tell us about Calvin?" Christian asked, "We thought it was Trevor who owned property in Canada; it would have been a goose chase."

"The thought hadn't crossed my mind until we were in Slick's place," Luke shrugged, "I realised mid-fire that we were running after the wrong brother; Jason's too clever to risk Trevor's life like that. It's too simple. This makes more sense."

"And what do we do when we get Teddy?" Christian asked.

"We make sure both he and Jason are kept safe until Welch lets us know the court dates," Luke shrugged, "Honestly, mate, I'm making this shit up as I go along. I really don't know what we're going to do. All I know is we'll do something, and I'm pretty sure what we do will be for the best outcome," Luke promised, his mobile phone ringing as he pulled it out. He didn't recognise the number but answered all the same.

"Sawyer speaking," Luke said, scratching his nuts and cock, spotting Grey looking at him in the rearview mirror, "How can I help?"

" _I can't talk. I need you to transfer money onto this account; I'm texting you the details. I'm alive but Jason's hurt._ "

Wait, what?

Was that….

Luke sat up so fast he jarred his stitches, letting out a curse as he paid more attention to the caller, "Teddy?!"

" _Can't talk. Transfer us money."_

"Teddy, wait, what happened?" Luke started, Christian slamming the breaks on and causing the sleeping Reynolds to fall forward against the dashboard and whack his head. He spun them into the nearest hard shoulder, turning off the engine and looking back at Sawyer.

Reynolds looked puzzled and dazed but pulled his finger out and got with the program. He grabbed Christian's arm and rose a finger to his lips; If someone was listening to this phonecall, by some miracle that they were being monitored, they couldn't give away the fact that Christian was with them. Sawyer glared at Christian when he went to object but was thankful he remained silent, especially when Sawyer put him on speakerphone, "You're on loud speaker Ted. Tell me what's going on."

" _Jason's got a concussion. Don't ask. I've stolen a car. Transfer me money and I'll be able to leave as quickly as possible with Jason."_

A concussion?

Stolen car?

"Who am I giving the money too?" Luke asked, glaring at Christian to be quiet; if the line wasn't secure, anyone listening would know Christian was with Luke. Luke understood that Christian was worried, especially now they knew Jason had hurt his head and Teddy was keeping them both going. Plus, he'd stolen a car for fuck sake!

Like…Luke had known Teddy to be able to steal many of his father's cars. But there was a difference between joyriding and actually stealing someone's baby.

" _The hotel owner we're staying with. She's given us a thousand dollars under the promise you'll give her triple that. Do it, Luke, please, I'll pay you back but we need to move fast; they found us before, they could find us again. We're doing well though; I don't know where we're going; Jason wont tell me and now-shit, he's just been sick again._ "

"Have you been to the doctors?" Luke pressed but then realised that if Teddy admitted he had been in a hospital with Jason, the wrong people would know to look for files on Jason Taylor and be able to locate them easily.

"… _I'm handling it and I'm confident."_

Clever boy.

"I think I can help you, Teddy. Keep Safe; I'll find you." Luke promised, Reynolds handing Luke his own mobile phone to use to sign into Luke's bank account to make the transfer, "I'm transferring it just now, Tedster."

" _Thanks Luke."_

"How is Jason?" Luke asked, "Describe his injury as best you can while I do this."

" _He hit his head hard and was fine until he faceplanted on the carpet. I am not worried, Luke; he will be fine after some rest, I am sure_."

The way Teddy's sentence structure changed was enough of a clue to Luke that the kid had taken Jason to be checked over; good man. It was hard to be vague and informative but Teddy was doing very well so far not to give anything away.

"And are you okay?" Luke asked next, "That's the money going through now."

" _I'm doing fine, Luke. I miss everyone and I'm sorry I did this to us all. Luke this is really important; Gail has a brain tumour. Can you make sure she gets help? Do you know if she's okay? Anything I can tell Jason when he wakes up please?"_

What was this? Was Teddy actually thinking of someone else before himself? Reynolds looked shocked and Christian had tears in his eyes; the poor father was silently staring at the phone and remembering the sound of his wayward son's voice.

Luke stared at Reynolds for advice; could he mention Gail to Teddy?

With a nod from the bald bastard, Luke turned back to the phone in his hand, "Teddy, I am certain that Gail will be fine. I am certain. Do you understand what I am saying?"

" _I think so. Is she still alive?"_

"Yes, Teddy. I am certain she is still very much alive and I am certain she will receive the best help she can. I am certain," Luke replied, playing up the lack of normal contraction words to let Teddy, hopefully, know that Gail was fine at well right now and they knew she was sick and was now receiving the care she would need to make a good recovery.

" _Thank you, Luke. I'm so sorry for slipping you ipecac"_

"You're forgiven, Tedster. You're still my best pal, okay," Luke promised.

" _Can you tell my dad I love him and that I'm sorry for disobeying him. I hope he can forgive me someday. I miss him and I miss Phoebe and I do even miss mom and her stupid cheery morning demeanour. I want to be home right now with Gail and Jason too and…just…I'm sorry, Luke for fucking up."_

"Keep safe kid, I'll let your dad know. They miss you badly, buddy. Be strong; stick with Jason. Now drive like fuck, Teddy. This phone call's been on too long already."

" _Bye_ ,"

The line went dead.

Luke stared at Christian and Reynolds placed a hand on the father's shoulder, giving him a manful squeeze, "Are you certain Jason's taking Teddy to Calvin Smith's property?"

"Yes," Luke said without a shadow of a doubt.

"We need to get there now," Christian nodded, turning back in his seat. He used his palms to wipe away the tears in his eyes and focused on the road ahead of them. There would be time for tears soon; right now, Christian was desperate and focused only on getting Teddy back into his grasp.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **A life time ago…**

 **The regular Dive Bar,**

 **Outskirts of San Diego,**

 **California.**

 **.**

He was all alone.

He was all alone and he couldn't go on.

Jason stared at himself in the bathroom mirror of his men's favourite dive bar and tried to work out where the fuck he'd gone wrong. Who had he harmed for God to punish him so violently and so cruelly?

Was it his fault that the people he loved died?

Daddy had died, and Jason had loved him dearly. Daddy would never have let mom move in with her father again, a man who'd been so violent and abusive that Jason, on occasions, wet the bed when the nightmares became too real. The verbal abuse, the threat of violence and the physical acts had traumatised Jason beyond belief. When Dolly hit him, when she yelled in his face and called him a failure the memories would come flooding back and he'd be, once again, that frightened little boy.

God he hated the vulnerability. It made him sick to feel so weak and worthless. Joining the Marine Corps had made him into a physical man…but mentally he just didn't feel right. He'd expected that, with age, he'd grow reflective of his childhood and understand his past. But that day had yet to come and Jason felt worthless and without an understanding to why he was treated so atrociously as a boy.

Slowly, he picked up his glass of whisky and took a deep, burning drink, placing the glass back on the sink as he stared at himself once more in the mirror. He'd decided he wanted to go out wearing his uniform so he'd been sure to spit shine his shoes that extra bit. His shirt and jacket were just as immaculate and he'd been sure to shave his chin before coming out to drink with the guys. It meant that when he was delivered to Hell he was at least presentable when made accountable for his sins.

Because quitters don't make it to Heaven and Jason was a quitter. He couldn't continue this life of his now that Dolly was pregnant and due any day. What was the point? She'd already made it clear she would kill him some day. The mind games she played…

Tears brimmed in his eyes as he remembered her latest ploy; feeding him breakfast in their kitchen with the rat poison open, on the counter, where he could see it. Rat poison because that's all he was to this woman; vermin. He loved her, he was sure he loved her, after all Dolly was his wife, but she hurt him and took pleasure from tormenting him daily. Did she put rat poison in his food or was it all a ploy to make him think she had? He couldn't not eat the meal because the plate would be thrown and she would threaten to cut him out of their baby's life if he didn't play this twisted game of abuse with her.

But it had gotten so bad, the beatings, the threats, the abuse, that Jason couldn't leave. He'd lost his fight; his courage. Work was tougher and he was spending more time away which, theoretically, should have been a relief but the reality was that his wife would fuck around behind his back. He knew she did because he was worthless and deserved to be cheated on. He was a bad lover, a shit fuck. If he was better at sex, Dolly pointed out, she wouldn't cheat on him so often. It wasn't her fault and it wasn't his, Dolly just told him that 'that's life'.

But this wasn't a life Jason could live any more. For their baby, it was better that Jason leave. Calvin had tried to help him escape but he was gone too. Like everyone Jason cared for; Dad, Mary, and now Cal.

Mary had taken him in and had treated him like her own son, even if he was as a totally different ethnicity. She'd cared for him, comforted him in a way that his biological mother failed to do. So why did Mary have to die on the operating table? It was supposed to have been a routine procedure for fuck sake. How had they let her have a heart attack?!

 _'It was God's plan.'_ the preacher had said.

How the fuck was this god's plan?!

The fear of being alone gnawed at Jason's throat and every breath felt more shallow and shallower until his lungs began to burn.

Calvin was dead. Calvin was dead and Jason was all alone now, Dolly had been sure to isolate Jason completely. At his own mother's funeral, Dolly had grabbed Jason's crotch with an iron vice grip when he'd wanted to comfort his grieving sister. Trevor had seen Jason's predicament and jumped to the conclusion that Dolly was giving him a handjob.

At their mother's funeral.

Trevor and Jenni refused to speak to him, called him a pervert and cut all ties between him and his nephews and in-laws. There was no one left in Jason's life but a wife who despised him and now she was pregnant with his daughter, supposedly. For all Jason knew the kid could be some other man's, probably another Marine because Dolly liked a man in uniform. She always had.

"Right," Jason mumbled under his breath as he double checked that he had everything he needed; whisky, suicide note, his revolver. He'd amended his will and made the unborn child his benefactor. Whether the child was his or not wouldn't matter once Jason was dead so it might as well have what little Jason owned. In his suicide note he'd spoken about Grandpa and his abusive childhood, about the love he'd learned from Mary and Cal before finally discussing his sadistic wife, listing the things she did whilst justifying why he deserved each act.

'She burnt my arm with the iron because I didn't remember to do the cleaning'

He signed it off by signature and nothing else. There was nothing else to really say, was there? Other than 'Sorry' to Trev and Jen for taking the cowards way out.

A final look in the mirror reaffirmed to Jason what he had to do, his arm still burning three days after Dolly had fried his skin.

"Right, okay," he hummed to himself as he lifted the revolver to his lips and placed the nuzzle in his mouth. His tongue rimmed the shaft, tasting the tangy steel of the gun, a light sprinkle of gunpowder also present. He angled the gun and took a deep breath, finger grabbing the trigger and-

BANG BANG BANG.

"Sir? You in there?"

Jason lowered the gun and glared as he heard on of the new boys, Private First Class Trent, bang on the toilet door.

For fuck sake, he was trying to fucking commit suicide. Didn't Trent know that? Fucking wank stain.

"I'm taking a shit," Jason lied, "What's up?"

"John, Gregor and Laing are fighting a SEAL," Trent said.

A SEAL? What the fuck was a Navy SEAL doing in this bar? This was a Marine Corps bar; the two separate Navy branches used different bars and pubs to keep themselves out of trouble. Why the fuck would a SEAL come to this bar? It was fucking suicide…and food for thought, Jason chuckled darkly as he put his gun in his trouser waistband before opening the door.

"What the fuck is a SEAL doing here?" Jason glared at Trent.

"He was trying to score Amy Blackie. You know the waitress?"

Jason knew the waitress well; some nights when Jason was too afraid to go home, Blackie would let Jason stay and drink after hours. They'd fucked once, it was either that or break down in tears when Blackie asked why he never went home to the wife he loved. But men don't cry; they fight and fuck. So fucking was the only way he could stop himself having a break down in his favourite booth.

"The barman's calling the cops," Trent added, "in two minutes. We could use your presence, Corporal."

Jason groaned lowly to himself; he couldn't kill himself when he was needed by his boys, "Fine. Where's the fight?" he asked, but he had already heard it. His three boys had the SEAL by the throat and were beating his drunken arse senseless. Only, typical SEAL, he didn't seem to know when to quit when the odds weren't in his favour.

"OI!" Jason commanded, the ruckus stopping almost instantly. Gregor dropped the SEAL and he fell in a laughing heap, John and Laing pulling Gregor back, "I've told you; no fighting in the bar!" he roared furiously at the three men, "My office, tomorrow morning. Expect the bollocking of your life, fellows. Head home now."

"Yeah ya pricks. Do what he says," the SEAL said smugly, apparently deciding that Jason was on his disobeyed Jason and kicked the SEAL hard in the ribs, causing the SEAL to hiss in drunken pain, "Dirty bastards!"

Jason rolled his eyes and grabbed the SEAL by his jacket, pulling him up to his feet with Trent's help, "I think he's with SEAL team 1; pretty sure I've seen him on base before," Jason admitted to Trent, "I've got the Senior Chief's number; I'll call and ask where this fucker lives and drive him there myself."

"Are you sure?" Trent asked.

"Well my plans are fucking ruined. Might as well deal with this shit," Jason snapped at his junior, chucking the Seal into his car. He groaned and slumped over onto the driver's seat with a groan.

"Aw, Sir, hope they weren't super important plans," Trent said, tucking the SEAL's legs in so they could close the door.

Jason just shook his head. No, Private First Class, I had just planned to decorate the men's room with my brain matter. Nothing I can't just do at home.

Trent backed off as Jason jumped into his car, shoving the SEAL out of the way. He was probably well over the drink-driving limit as he pulled onto the motorway, leaving their usual Dive bar behind him.

"What's your name?" Jason snapped, clubbing the SEAL hard on the leg to rouse him now that he'd slumped forward to sleep on the dashboard.

"Shhawjer," the SEAL mumbled, "Who you?"

"Corporal Taylor," Jason snipped, "What were you doing on Marine property, Shhawjer?"

"No, no," the SEAL scoffed, "Shhhaw-yer," he slurred, "No shhhhhhh. Thicko."

"Where do you live?" Jason growled through gritted teeth as he realised he was driving aimlessly around San Diego.

"I dunno," Sawyer shrugged, grabbing Jason's spare coat and using it as a pillow, "I'll sleep here."

"No you wont," Jason snapped, "You've already ruined my fucking night. Don't you dare-"

Snoring.

For fuck sake!

Jason took a sharp left but the SEAL didn't budge, out for the count. He rolled his eyes and sped deliberately faster than he should, especially after a few top labelled whiskies. Maybe he'd crash and die? It wasn't how he planned to go but it would do…only he couldn't now because he'd a fucking sleeping SEAL in the car and he knew how much those bastards were worth.

Dolly was out of town, for once, visiting her mother for the weekend in San Francisco, the reason Jason had actually been allowed out at the weekend. Together, they lived in a ground floor apartment, a dinky little place with two bedrooms, a large living room and a good sized bathroom. When Jason bought it he'd imagined spending a few years here with his wife, bringing in their first child before looking for somewhere bigger with a garden. He'd envisioned having a Christmas tree in the far left of their living room and having Trev and his family up to visit the beach every other month.

Funny how plans never seemed to work out like Jason hoped.

The SEAL stumbled onto the sofa and grinned contently as he stripped down out of his jeans and shirt, chucking his clothes to the floor. Jason took that moment to look through the guy's wallet and try and figure out who he was, if he was with Team 1 like he suspected.

His mobile phone got checked too and Jason saw he'd a message from some guy called Welch; 'where are you, Sawyer? Pussy's good by Old Barron Bar tonight.'

Going through the SEAL's wallet, he noticed a driver's license; Luke Sawyer.

Well at least he had a name now, Jason thought.

"I'm going to bed," Taylor told the drunken Sawyer, rolling his eyes when the SEAL burped and looked up at Jason smugly.

"Thanks for the lift, bud," he slurred, making himself at home in Jason's apartment as if this had been all one big ploy to get a free lift. He didn't seem to care that he'd ruined Jason's night and that infuriated the Marine. In utter rage, he ripped his suicide note from his jacket breast pocket and waved it around in the SEAL's face like a flag.

"Fuck. You. Sawyer. You've ruined my fucking night and quite possibly my fucking life! You've no fucking clue. She's never going to give me a weekend alone again to do it. Not with a baby coming. You fucking insufferable bastard!" Jason shouted, throwing the note at the SEAL's face, "Piece of fucking shit."

With that, Jason stormed through to his bedroom and slammed the door, getting himself undressed and throwing himself into bed as he wept in fear as the magnitude of what he'd planned to do to himself sunk in.

.

.

 **Present day,**

 **04:32,**

 **Somewhere dangerous in Canada,**

 **Heading somewhere safer in Canada,**

 **Canada;**

 **Duh.**

 **.**

Stealing the car hadn't been the hard part. Teddy had stolen many cars in his past; although they were all his father's own cars and he technically didn't steal them because he was on the insurance. Still, Teddy remembered watching a movie about a conman and learnt from there how to jumpstart a car. He'd been surprised when he'd actually managed to do it, cheering when the Civic's engine purred lowly.

Next job had been rousing Jason to get him to the hospital to be checked over. He was conscious but incredibly dizzy and nauseated and it was like trying to drag a drunk into the car. The doctors, however, had reassured Teddy that it was just a concussion and to let him rest and recover. He'd already started acting more like himself in the doctor's waiting room so Teddy had felt a little more relaxed.

Thirdly, Teddy had needed money. A stolen car was a step in the right direction but realistically they needed money for food, clothes, hotels etc. His only hope was asking the motel receptionist for a loan of hard cash in exchange for a transfer with triple whatever she gave him; thank you Luke Sawyer.

Getting the fuck out of Dodge was the next task Teddy faced, chucking the mobile phone he'd borrowed from the lady at the motel to call Luke. He knew there was a real risk of being found whenever he made contact with his folks back at Seattle, this was not something unknown to him. Jason had been very firm on limiting all forms of contact with home, no matter how painful but this was an emergency.

The radio was shit but the music was very much needed to calm Teddy's nerves as he drove and drove and drove, deliberately going in erratic directions to prevent a tail, just like Jason had taught Teddy to do. However, Teddy was also aware that he needed to avoid the police; he had stolen this car after all.

Fuck he'd need to ditch it.

Jason was slumped against the window, sick bag in hand. He looked exhausted and was trying to sleep off his injury, using Teddy's shirt as a pillow. When he was a little more coherent, Teddy would let him know that Gail was getting the care she needed.

"Drink up," Teddy encouraged, nudging Jason's knee and handing him a bottle of water.

"Mmmnn," Jason grumbled, rolling over more towards the window like a big grumpy baby.

Whatever. Teddy didn't care all that much, focusing on the road and keeping his eyes pealed for two things;

A place to stay for the night.

A place to ditch this hot car.

Thankfully, the first of those was an easy find now that he had the motel's safe contents in his pocket; one thousand Canadian dollars in cash. They could stay somewhere a little more reputable too. Teddy was his father's son after all and he did have slightly more…luxurious tastes. Sure, he didn't expect a hot tub and hotel room service but he would like two separate beds and perhaps a decent shower.

He looked at Jason one last time then focused on the road ahead and decided to head towards Prince George, a city in British Columbia which the motel receptionist had recommended he head towards.

"Not long now, Taylor," Teddy mumbled, turning up the radio.

.

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **04:32**

 _ **The Slick Life**_ **Nightclub,**

 **Downtown Seattle,**

 **Seattle,**

.

"Well that was an utter cluster fuck," Slick snapped, glaring at the spot where his fucking helicopter should have been, "Dad's going to fucking kill me."

"Slick," Damen, the big ugly bear of a man, called from behind him. He looked over his shoulder at the guy and took in his appearance; fucking huge, skin head, former Marine Corps. He was a monster, a total tank, and he'd been Slick's bodyguard since he was born. Dad had a lot of enemies so each of the Esposito family had their own protection.

"If it's not good news, Damen, don't fucking speak to me," Slick snapped, trying to get his story right. Dad was going to be fucking livid when he found out that, not only had ten of their grunts been shot dead, but Grey and two of his goons had walked in and fucking grabbed the Sawyer girls and then fucking stolen his fucking helicopter.

And to make it fucking worse; the helicopter landed at Sea-tac and was being swabbed by the fucking FBI for DNA.

"It's a little bit of both," Damen shrugged, "Suarez at the SPD says they've found prints, hair and a lot of blood; all Luke Sawyer's. So there's evidence. Suarez says he'll have it destroyed before a trial is organised."

"Thank fuck," Slick growled in relief, "What's the latest on the trial?"

"Suarez says it's looking like they'll be issued a warrant for your arrest sooner rather than later. The video evidence Theodore Grey took is grainy and they can't say completely that it's you….but they need Teddy to testify in court."

"Then fucking find him," Slick shouted at Damen, "Fucking kill him or I'm taking all you bastards down with me."

"Well," Damen shrugged, "We've got a positive sighting on Luke Sawyer, James Reynolds and Christian Grey, leaving another hospital. We've got a tail on them."

"Excuse me?" Slick frowned, looking at Damen with a shocked expression, "What do you mean you've seen them?"

"They went to a different hospital. One of our boys was there. Simonson. You know his little lad's got Downs's syndrome? Well he gets a lot of check-ups and was there whe-"

"Damen I don't give a fuck about Simonson or his freakish family," Slick roared angrily.

Damen took in a deep breath, "Sorry, Sir."

"You do not lose Grey," Slick warned, "Or I'll have your nads in a fucking jamjar," he threatened, storming away, "And find their fucking wives."

"They're gone," Damen said instantly, "They're heading to Cardiff."

"Where the fuck is that?" Slick hissed, "Do I look like a fucking Atlas?"

"No, Sir. Cardiff is in Wales, in Britain. It's part of Europe. Well, not for much longer but-"

For a fucking Marine, Damen prattled on with boring little details. Was he nervous? Was he paranoid? Had he been snorting Slick's H? What the fuck was he going on and on and on about?

He was still talking.

Slick threw his coffee mug at the ugly skin head, "Damen! Shut the fuck up right now and find me Theodore Grey before I have you gun downed!"

.

.

 **11:30am,**

 **Finally in the know about his location,**

 **Holiday Stop Hotel,**

 **Prince George,**

 **British Columbia,**

 **Canada**

.

"Where the fuck are we?" Taylor groaned, rolling over and looking at Teddy curiously after hours of being unconscious and ill. They'd only just arrived, Teddy having had to drive erratically much like Jason had done on leaving Seattle to assure himself that they hadn't been followed.

"We're in Prince George, British Columbia," Teddy informed, putting down his hand towel and walking over to Jason's bed, "You fainted."

"…What?" Jason frowned and slowly sat up, rubbing his sore forehead and puzzling when he felt the icepack Teddy had strapped to his head earlier to help with the swelling and bruising.

"You hit your head in the river plunge and the doctors reckon you're concussed. And exhausted. And hungry," Teddy said, "I've bought us some supplies; I was going to make us steak for lunch. It's technically still morning but it's never too early for steak."

"Steak?" Jason frowned, "What do you mean doctors? What the fuck happe-where are my clothes?" he asked, realising he was bollock naked under his bedsheets when he went to stand.

"You've been dazed for the last few hours," Teddy explained calmly, trying to sound confident. The reality was that he wasn't confident and he'd been terrified that Jason's concussion was something more sinister. To see him awake, even if he was naked, was the most beautiful sight Teddy had witnessed in days, "You were sick on your clothes so I thought when I put you to bed you should be comfortable and clean. I even washed up your chest and face for you; no need to thank me."

"I've been out of it for hours?" Jason clarified, "Fuck. I don't remember blacking out."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner about Gail?" Teddy cut in sharply, staring at the bodyguard as his shoulders sagged at her mere mention, "In fact, don't answer that. Let me run you a bath so you can freshen up properly. There's a bathrobe in there and I got us fresh clothes when I went shopping. How do you like your steak?"

"Where did you get the money from for this hotel room and the food and clothes?" Jason asked, cupping his cock and balls as he stood before realising he needed both hands to stabilize himself, "Fuck, I'm whoozey."

"I borrowed money from the motel lady right before I stole a car," Teddy shrugged, then quickly added, "Don't panic. I chucked the car at the other side of the city and bussed it back to you here. I've done everything by The Book Of Taylor. Now, how would you like your steak? We're starving, we're smelly and we're exhausted emotionally and physically. Mom always said a good meal and a solid night's sleep does a person wonders."

"Blue," Jason finally said, following Teddy into the bathroom and sitting on the toilet seat while Teddy ran him a bath, "I'll be fine getting in myself," he tried to say but Teddy wasn't having that shit from Jason. He filled the tub and even threw in the complimentary rubber ducky from the three star hotel they were staying in before helping Jason climb in since he seemed so unstable still.

"If you need a hand out of the tub then give me a shout; don't be a dick about asking for help," Teddy mumbled and left Jason to soak. It had been a long time since he'd cooked for himself but steaks were easier than most people seemed to think. Teddy remembered the first time he'd cooked meat of any sort had been on a camping trip with dad and Jason. Gail had always encouraged Teddy to experiment with food since he'd been such a fussy eater as a child. It made sense to his parents that Teddy learn to prepare his own meals to try an entice him to try more things.

One of these things was steak, although he'd never done a blue/raw steak. He liked his medium rare and dad liked his cremated, so Teddy hoped Taylor would forgive him if his steak wasn't as bloody as he would like.

Food was important to recovering and both Teddy and Jason had been running on empty, snapping at each other too due to their bodies being exhausted. So on his trip back from ditching the hot car, Teddy had picked up some steaks, some eggs, a packet of salad (apparently you could be salad pre-chopped in bags, something which blew the billionaire's mind), mayo and potatoes. He knew Jason was a big guy and needed the calories so he'd picked up chocolate too. There had been temptation to by a dirty movie but he'd settled for an Escort magazine and jacked off in the bathroom after his own shower while Taylor was sleeping.

After half an hour, Teddy was plating up dinner, pulling a bottle of whisky and a bottle of coke out of the fridge and pouring himself and Taylor a drink. He was about to knock when Jason opened the door, wrapped up in the gown and holding the Escort.

"Really?" Jason laughed, putting it down on the table between their bed.

"Page five," Teddy instructed and bit his lip, humming approvingly, "Don't say you wouldn't."

"I don't know," Jason mused, "Not really into redheads, being strawberry blonde myself."

"You read it?" Teddy laughed and handed him his plate. There was no table and chairs so dinner was going to be eaten on the two single beds.

"Of course I did; I'm a hotblooded man," Jason reminded him, "See that one on the front cover? I'd eat her ass in a heartbeat. Blondes are my favourite; blonde nice girls."

"You had much variation to compare?" Teddy asked, sitting down once he'd sprinkled a little salt on his fried egg. He was rather proud of his dinner; steak, homemade chips, fried eggs and bag-salad.

"I stopped notching the bed after fifty," Jason admitted, cutting into his steak and nodding with approval, "But I've been with seven women between ending my marriage and making a go of it with Gail. So, yeah, I've had a lot of women to draw comparisons with. Blondes were the winner for me."

"Shit, man, I didn't realise you were such a womaniser," Teddy smirked, "You kept that hidden behind the suit and housekeeper wife."

"Marine Uniform; gets women wetter than the ocean," Jason pointed out, "When I left the Corps it became harder to get pussy. But I was married so I wasn't openly seeking it. This steak is really good though, Teddy. Well done."

"Thanks; Gail and mom taught me how to cook. I can make a few meals to keep myself going," Teddy nodded, "I'm not so good with reading but I can cook a damn good meal when I try."

"I still can't believe you told no one about the reading thing," Jason grumbled, "We could have had something done sooner for you."

"Stephen did my English work and I did his maths work. People only noticed I was struggling when he died and after that…people thought I was just traumatised or something," Teddy admitted, looking up and seeing Jason was staring hard at hid dinner plate.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to save your friend," Jason said softly, "It…I…It still haunts me. I've seen a lot of dead kids, shot a few myself in the forces. You've got to; it's you and your brothers' vs the enemy and you've got to do everything in your power to protect your own guys. But seeing Stephen dead was just wrong. It never should have happened."

"It wasn't your fault," Teddy shrugged, "I get that. I'm getting that. I've hated you and mom and everyone for so long now that I'm starting to get tired of it. You've saved my life countless times these last few days and I'm sorry I dragged you in to all of this."

"We were all young once," Jason said passively, "Everyone makes mistakes. It was just bad timing for me; Gail's got a brain tumour and she needs it removed."

"Is it cancerous?" Teddy asked worriedly, scooping a forkful of potato and egg into his mouth as he watched Jason curiously.

"No, we don't think so," Jason said, blinking a little more now, "But she still needs an operation and explorative surgery. And we don't know one hundred percent that it's not cancerous. I just don't know if she's getting that help or if she's waiting for me."

"She's getting the help she needs," Teddy said firmly, "Trust me. I had to call Luke for the money. Don't freak out, we did it all safely, I chucked the phone too. I didn't tell him anything really either. But he confirmed to me that Gail's getting the help she needs. They know she's ill and they're helping her."

"Thank god," Jason choked, lifting his glass to his lips and taking a deep drunk, his hands shaking. When he put the glass down he was smiling despite tears pouring down his cheeks, "Sorry," he croaked, wiping his eyes with the palms of his hands and shaking his head, "It's hard. Gail's my life. It's hard being away from her when I know she needs me. I'm terrified, Teddy."

That was hard for Teddy to hear. Growing up, Taylor, Sawyer, Reynolds and Ryan were the strongest people Teddy had ever known. Sure, dad was pretty confident and strong but without mom he'd be a hermit. Jason Taylor was, to Teddy and Phoebe, the personification of bravery and safety. To hear the man himself admit he was terrified made Teddy anxious.

"She'll be fine," Teddy assured him, "Honestly. She's a good person. Dad will get her the best care possible."

"Yeah?" Jason asked, cheeks stained with tears.

Shit, what was Jason doing asking Teddy for reassurance? Teddy didn't fucking know. He didn't know jack shit about cancer, about life, about love.

"Yes," Teddy said firmly, "I promise, they'll have her up and about in days. But we're not going to keep anymore secrets, right? We're going to be honest."

Jason nodded, drying his eyes on his bathrobe before tackling his dinner again, "No more secrets; just honesty."

"Good. I love your daughter," Teddy blurted out.

Jason choked on his steak, grabbing his whisky and coke.

"I know she's with that guy in Cambodia; Mud-heap," Teddy grumbled, unable to stop the resentment in his voice.

"Mittapheap," Jason corrected him, wiping his chin, "Mitt. They've been dating for a long time. If I'm being honest, Teddy, I think he's coming over this Christmas to ask my permission to marry her."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Teddy shrugged, "She's beautiful. And funny. She's got a seriously dark humour that I like."

"Yeah, she gets that from her mother," Jason admitted, looking at Teddy, "How long have you loved her?"

"Since I can remember," Teddy nodded, going for broke and being completely truthful with Taylor for once, "She used to play student and teacher with me when we were kids and she'd help me with my reading," he smiled fondly, "She was my first kiss at one of the new year parties. She was a rock after Stephen died," Teddy croaked now, laughing lowly, "And she was my first time too."

"You need to speak to her, Ted," Jason said honestly, "Let her know before she does marry Mitt."

"I think when this is over I will," Teddy promised, "I know I'm probably the last thing you want sniffing around your daughter but I would love the opportunity to prove myself to you. Start a fresh."

"You need to get a job then, Ted. Or a pathway to a job," Jason pointed out, "College, take up an internship at GEH-"

"I don't think I want to do that," Teddy admitted, "I've never wanted to do that. I've no interest in GEH. As for college…I spent my high school years being labelled stupid by my teachers because I couldn't read. I really don't want to go through that again. I can't deal with that."

"I know what you mean; I was the bottom of my class at school. It's hard," Jason nodded, "I had a lot of family shit. If it hadn't been for my friend Calvin and his family I don't think I would have left Texas; I wouldn't have been sent to military school."

"Calvin?"

"My friend Calvin died," Jason said gruffly, "He was my Stephen. My everything. He consistently had my back. We were tight since I was seven."

"Seven?" Teddy whistled, scraping up the last of his salad, "How'd you meet?"

"I wet my pants," Jason laughed, "I wet my pants walking home to our farm and I was too scared to go home and get yelled at so Calvin, the new boy at school, let me come round to his. We were secret best friends ever since."

"Secret?" Teddy chuckled, "How come?"

"Calvin was black," Jason shrugged, "My grandfather –we lived with him once dad died in 'Nam- he was a preacher who went on to become affiliated with the KKK," Jason admitted, scratching his beard, "He got murdered a few weeks after I started working for your father. My little sister is still part of the Klan but I don't speak to her. It's too painful, especially when Calvin's mother, Mary, had been so loving and caring. She'd do this thing where she'd bundle me up in her arms and stroke my hair and tap my butt and it was the safest I've ever felt."

"I remember you doing that to me," Teddy chuckled, mouthful, "So what happened to Calvin?"

"He died," Jason nodded, "He was going to help me take my then wife to court for child custody of our baby. Because my ex wife was abusive, Cal had bought me a Safe House in Canada that I was to take myself and Sophie to."

"A Safe House…?" Teddy echoed.

"My wife used to abuse me violently and psychologically. I was so…broken by my childhood that I didn't know any better; I didn't think I was worthy of anything but hurt. Calvin had to sign me out of hospital once which was when he realised I was a victim of domestic abuse. The guy was smart, a lawyer, and he knew the system well. He bought me and Soph a safe place and was prepared to fight a desertion case if I did run away one night. That's where I've been trying to take us," Jason admitted, "The safest place I know. It's been my contingency plan for decades. I even went as far as leaving clues in your dad's apartment if there was ever a time I needed to run so that Sawyer or Reynolds would be able to find us."

"Luke said that he thought he knew where we were going," Teddy remembered, seeing Jason's smile brighten.

"Sawyer's a smart bastard," Jason chuckled, taking Teddy's plate and his own, carrying them to the sink, "So, if you don't want to go to college or GEH, what do you want to do?"

"Honestly? I want to be a builder," Teddy admitted, "I worked for uncle Elliot for a few weeks last Summer and loved it. Honestly, Jason. But I can't do that. It's like a slap in the face to everything ym parents can give us. I could walk into Harvard tomorrow and get a place on any course I want because Daddy could buy them a new building as a trade. It's like I don't have control over my own life; I'm expected to be a better man than my father but I'll never be that."

"Theodore," Jason said firmly, coming over with a family sized bar of chocolate, helping himself, "Teddy. If you want to be a builder then you be a builder. It's a good job; you're building houses for people to live in. Buildings like libraries and hospitals. It's a good, honest job. When we get back home, I promise you, I will help you get something organised when we get home. I'll speak to your dad if need be."

"You think Dad would be okay with that? Honestly?" Teddy frowned.

"If that's what you want, what will make you happy and what will make you confident again, Teddy, then of course he will be okay with that," Jason said firmly, "I mean it."

"If I get a job and my own place, would you let me date your daughter?" Teddy chanced, giving Jason that infamous Grey smirk.

"Like I said earlier; she's a grown woman and if she wants to make mistakes she can," Jason smirked, washing down his mouthful of chocolate with another whisky, picking up the porno magazine and reading.

 **.**

 **.**

 **A life time ago…**

 **Flat G1,**

 **Taylor Residence,**

 **San Diego,**

 **California.**

.

Jason frowned when he smelt bacon and instantly began to panic; Dolly was home.

Except, no, she wasn't home. Jason sat up and frowned, picking his phone from his bedside counter and seeing she'd text him to say ' _Goodnight x_ '.

His heart rose a little; he'd gotten an 'x' from her. Maybe she did love him again? He hoped so, texting her back 'goodmorning, beautiful xx' before placing his phone back down to charge.

Slowly, he stood and tugged at his pyjama bottoms, remembering with clarity the events of last night. The SEAL…

Surely the bastard wasn't eating Jason's bacon?

After letting him sleep on the sofa?

Surely not…

"Oi, babe? You wanting a running egg or nah?"

Jason groaned; why couldn't he just leave like normal people did when they stayed over at a stranger's place?

Slowly he stood and walked out to the kitchen where, indeed, the SEAL known as Luke Sawyer was stood in his kitchen in just his boxer shorts, using the entire contents of Jason's fridge to cook them both breakfast.

"What the fuck are you still doing here?" Jason frowned, watching the food suspiciously; had he laced it with rat poison or-no, this wasn't Dolly. This was a stranger. Jason was positive the food was good, especially when Luke Sawyer eat a piece of crispy bacon straight from the pan.

"Cooking breakfast, babe," Luke shrugged, "How do you like your eggs?"

"Is this really happening?" Jason exclaimed in shock, "Who do you think you are?"

"I'm the boy cooking you breakfast," Luke replied, "Too late now; your fried egg isn't running. Sorry, babe."

"Why are you calling me 'babe'? You're not one of those poofs are you?" Jason asked suspiciously, his stomach growling in hunger.

"Because you're my friend?" Luke pointed out.

"I don't have any friends," Jason snapped coldly.

"Now you do," Luke smiled, plating up breakfast and staring at Jason with those beautiful blue-green eyes, "You look like a guy who likes ketchup, my right?"

"…love it," Jason admitted then, resigning himself in defeat to this random ass morning, "It's in the top cupboard. Wait, no, I don't know anything about you; who the fuck are you?"

"Called it," Luke smirked, grabbing him the sauce before walking to the sofa and making himself at him again, "My name's Luke Sawyer. My day job is being a SEAL but by night I play guitar at bars and coffee shop sets, favourite color's blue, favourite song's Get Low by lil Jon and the Eastside boys, I love Italian food and extreme sports. And you?"

"I, uh, my name is Jason Taylor. I'm a Corporal in the Marine Corps. Uh, favourite food is a steak and vege. I love hockey. Favourite colour is blue too," Jason found himself saying, totally bewildered and confused; was this Sawyer guy on meth?

Pleasure to meet you; Jason Taylor. What are we doing today? I'm off and so are you; I read your calendar."

"Excuse me, I don't know you. I mean, other than facts about you," Jason glared, "We don't have plans. You're going home after you've eaten and I'm going to…to…I don't know yet. But whatever I decide to do wont involve you," he huffed then froze in the spot, spotting his suicide note laying folded, neatly, on the coffee table in front of the SEAL's sofa nest.

The bastard had read it.

Had he?

Jason couldn't tell; was the guy being deliberately forward or was he naturally obnoxious?

Luke looked up at Jason and fixed him with a crooked, handsome smirk, "That's fine, babe. I'll organise plans for us. Fancy surfing today? Surf is supposed to be pretty decent."

"I…I can't surf," Jason said in fear, feeling himself about to be sick with anxiety.

"I'll teach you," Luke replied, "Do I smell or something that you're not sitting? You're blocking the view of Lara Spencer. She's pretty fit, right?"

"…yeah she is," Jason nodded, slowly parking his ass beside this SEAL guy and slowly tucking into the food, his body instantly wary. It was so used to Dolly's mind games that he was conditioned to react anxiously whenever someone offered him a plate.

"Come on, Jason Taylor It's not poisoned; I cooked you it myself. Eat up and we'll go surfing," Luke smirked, turning up the volume when Lara Spencer appeared on screen.

"I need to go to my office first to yell at the boys for fighting you," Jason admitted.

"No worries, babe, I'll drive or you?" Luke asked.

"You presumptuous prick; you're not driving my car!" Jason growled.

"If you're sure, babe."

"Stop calling me that you poof!"

"Whatever you say, Sweetie."

"Fuck sake, Sawyer."


	18. Chapter 18

**After the Election results today, I consoled myself by writing a chapter for this!**

 **This will be the end of the flashbacks. Next chapter will be Christian, Luke and Grumpy Reynolds as well as Slick and his men stalking the guys. Thank you all so so so so SO much for following this story and chatting to me about it. I love reading peoples opinions on what I've written so please keep chatting :)**

 **x D**

 **.**

 **Chapter eighteen.**

 **.**

 **Six months ago….**

 **Teddy's 18** **th** **birthday,**

 **Grey mansion,**

 **Grey estate,**

 **Seattle**

 **.**

"What the fuck's wrong with you, Ted?"

Teddy looked up at Sophie, perched on his windowsill in her boyish pyjamas, staring at him with those unbelievably beautiful blue eyes. She'd a cunning smirk, and a wicked sense of humour which always made Teddy laugh on the dark days, but she was also incredibly attuned to others so it was no surprise to see her sat wearing pallid bottoms and a tank top in his room with a look of worry on her face.

She looked ridiculously sexy, Teddy thought. He knew she'd been in Cambodia for almost two years now working at an orphanage, teaching English at a school, so she'd developed a beautiful olive glow to her skin, her hair a lighter shade of gingery blonde. God she was hot.

Watching her lips, Teddy remembered his first kiss, a drunken fumble when they'd both had too much to drink, Sophie having been horrified because Teddy had only been fifteen when she'd kissed him.

To her it was a mistake but to him it had been the most amazing moment of his life.

"Nothin'," Teddy grumbled, hands running through his hair as he glared at the rug.

"That didn't look like 'nothin'. You told Gail to piss off and called Ryan an 'autistic retard'," Sophie mumbled, "Dude, they don't deserve to be spoken to like that."

"Well they were on my back," Teddy glared.

"It's your eighteenth birthday," Sophie pointed out, "They just wanted to make sure you had a good day. Everyone's worried."

"You don't know that; you've been back for what? Two weeks?" Teddy mumbled, "You don't know what it's like here."

"I came here to see you, Ted. I paid for my own flights to come and spend your birthday with you. If you're going to be a little bitch I'll head home," Sophie threatened.

"No," Teddy said quickly, shaking his head, "Don't leave me."

"What's going on, Ted. Speak to me," Sophie sighed as she walked towards him, closing the window behind her. The security was top notch so Teddy knew Reynolds would have seen her sneaking in to see him and boy was he thankful Jason had had one too many to notice himself.

"It's nothing. Just college stuff. I don't know what I want to do next," Teddy lied, forcing a smile, "I'll apologise to Gail tomorrow. And Ryan. I didn't mean it," he promised.

That wasn't a lie; Gail was like a mother to him. She'd always been, ever since his own mother had had that emotional breakdown.

Because, sure, she was the traumatised one.

His best friend in the whole wide fucking world had died at it was her who had depression. Her who couldn't get over the death. Her who couldn't go a day without looking at Teddy like he'd sucker punched her.

Fucking whore.

"Are you going to your therapist?" Sophie asked next, which caught him off guard. How'd she know he had to see a nut case doc?

"Yeah," Teddy lied, "We speak a lot."

Truth was, he didn't speak. Instead, he took great joy in wasting his psychologist's time and messing around in the knowledge that his parents would never know he wasn't taking it seriously due to patient confidentiality.

"Good," Sophie smiled softly, stroking his cheek softly, "I worry about you, Ted."

Damn, why did the slightest touch from this woman feel like he'd been struck by lightning on his dick? She was so goddamn sexy and she was here, especially for his birthday. Surely she that meant she felt the same electrical current between them?

Fuck he'd fancied her fore years…

Teddy leant against her comforting hand before gently taking it in his own and bringing it slowly to his lips.

Gently, he placed a kiss on the palm, staring up at her and giving her that Grey smoulder he'd been told he had by his thousands of Instagram followers.

She froze and stared at him with curiosity in those blue eyes. When she didn't make to move, he kissed the palm of her hand once more before kissing her once more, caressing her thigh gently.

"Ted…" Sophie started but Teddy made a point to silence her, kissing her firmly and not giving her the opportunity to shoo him off. When she kissed back with vigour, Teddy pushed her back onto his bed and pinned her down, ravishing her with his mouth as her hands ripped at his copper hair.

He loved this woman, her wit and her caring nature. She was older than he was, by nearly seven years, but that didn't turn him off. Fuck no, she could be twenty years older and he'd still want her as badly as he did right now. To him, she was utterly perfect.

She locked her legs around his hips and grinded herself against his erection, her lips biting his ear aggressively.

"You got condoms?" she panted in his ear, losing her tank top as quickly as he threw his shirt off, chucking it somewhere.

"Yeah, I do," Teddy nodded. Dad made a point to keep him stocked up on all manners of things; condoms, lube, anything he felt he wanted. For the sake of the media, Taylor had one of the security buy the Greys such things because dad was paranoid he'd be photographed buying shite at a chemist or something.

Teddy had no clue.

Teddy didn't care.

All he did care about was the fact he had condoms, the fact he was going to get to use one for the first time, and the fact that that first time was with this woman who he loved.

"Do you mind if I go on top?" Sophie mumbled, "I love it."

"Be my guest," Teddy laughed, unable to do anything but laugh, "I'm not gonna say no. You've got the boobs; makes you the boss."

Sophie laughed just then too, staring up at him and blushing, "You're such a goof ball."

"I'm your goofball though, yeah?" Teddy smiled, rolling them both over so she was above him, his hands cupping her breasts, "Mmmm, booooooob."

Sophie laughed hard at that, looking down at him with utter admiration, "You're my bestfriend, you know that right?"

"Of course," Teddy grinned, "I'm awesome."

"I'm being serious, Ted," Sophie said and rolled her eyes.

"Hey, did you just roll your eyes at me?" he mock-gasped, "I should give you lashings for your bad manners."

"I'm being serious here, Ted," Sophie stressed.

"Me too," Teddy winked, going for broke and slapping her full, round ass, "Mmmmm, buuuuuutt."

"You can speak to me," Sophie said, ignoring his attempts at lightening the mood, "I know it's still raw but we've always had each other, true?"

"True," Teddy agreed with a sigh, "I promise; if I'm in trouble. I'll speak to you. But right now I've got the sexiest woman in the world on lap. I'm currently on cloud nine."

"I mean it, Ted. Promise me; you'll reach out to me if you're ever in trouble?" Sophie said, and Teddy froze as she carefully stroked the self-harm scars he'd embedded on his abs. He'd a hairy body so they were covered almost completely, but Sophie knew they were there. It had been her who'd driven him to the hospital when he told her he hadn't stopped bleeding one time and she'd spoken to him in the car about all manner of things.

"I know you mean it," Teddy assured her, "Now shut up and kiss me. I've been dying to do this for so long," he mumbled, leaning up and kissing her deeply.

 **.**

 **Present day,**

 **Well after midnight,**

' **Secret Best Friends Lodge'**

 **Somewhere in British Columbia,**

 **Canada,**

.

.

When Teddy thought of the Safe House, he imagined something impenetrable and not what was before him. He'd imagined steel walls, reinforced gates, barbed wire and trenches all around the property, maybe even a few pit bulls or German shepherd dogs to add a little bark.

This was not what he'd imagined when he and Jason finally completed their journey.

They'd awoken in the hotel a few hours later, bellies full of steak and whisky and chocolate, allowing themselves to sleep, safely, for as long as their bodies needed. Teddy had showered and then had a bath, feeling the hot water sting each and every little nick and bruise as he'd soaked. He'd used some of the complimentary shampoo and soap to really give himself a thorough clean, realising with how bad both he and Jason had smelt only now that he was washed. Like, Teddy couldn't even remember the last time he'd washed his cock, balls and ass. It was beyond disgusting but felt amazing to rectify the problem now.

"I bought a few things," Jason called through to Teddy.

"Were you safe?" Teddy replied and heard the Marine laugh rather than respond; of course Jason Taylor was safe.

With great reluctance, Teddy lifted himself from the tub, choosing not to look at the scum line, and walked through to their shared room, "How'd you get on?" he asked, looking at the contents on his bed;

First aid kit.

New jeans.

New black t-shirt.

Hiking boots.

A jacket.

Woollen socks.

Briefs, not boxers.

Everything looked good, Teddy thought, drying himself off. Jason was ballock naked, tending to a painful looking cut on his upper thigh, near his groin muscle. He winced, rubbing in antiseptic cream before sitting on the bed to let it dry in. Teddy decided to do the same and was thankful that all his scrapes and pains were in the upper region of his body, nothing too far south.

"How much were the clothes?" Teddy asked, sitting down too in his towel till the cream set a little.

"Less than a hundred," Jason smiled, laying back on his bed with a sigh, "It's going to be a tough walk."

"It'll be fine," Teddy shrugged, cracking his back, "How's your head?"

"Sore as fuck," Jason laughed, "Better though. Nothing a tactical wank can't fix."

"Tactical wank?" Teddy frowned as Jason stood, pulling on a pair of boxers and then his new jeans, "What the fuck is that?"

"Something Ryan always says," Jason replied, "Whenever he's stressed he says he has a tactical wank. Dunno why, just something he reckons he invented."

"Huh," Teddy frowned, getting dressed once he'd finished cleaning up all his little cuts.

They'd hopped on a train.

Then a bus.

Then another bus.

Teddy had no idea where they were, where they were going, trusting Jason's memory and instinct as they began their ascend into thicker and thicker forestry. Teddy wished he'd brought a mobile phone because….wow. The view was astounding, even as the sun set and it became darker. Jason didn't stop for the night, insisting they kept pushing forward so Teddy armed himself with a flash light and kept close to Jason's back as they followed the path of a road.

They crossed a few bridges and were passed by a couple of lorries and trucks heading north towards the Yukon, apparently. Jason was in his element so Teddy just took his word on it.

"What about wolves?" Teddy asked.

"What about them?" Jason had called from up ahead.

"Well, what do we do if we get chased by wolves?" Teddy replied, using a large stick to walk with.

"Oh," Jason mumbled, scratching his head, "Why? Have you seen any?"

"Nah I was just fore-planning," Teddy explained, "What do you do?"

"You stop and play dead," Jason said firmly, stopping to pull out two power bars from his rucksack.

"Seriously?" Teddy frowned in disbelief, "Do they not like dead things?"

"I've no idea what they like," Jason smirked, "But if you drop down and play dead it'll give me a chance to run," he joked and laughed almost joyfully when Teddy lobbed a stone at his head.

Maybe it was the night air, the hiking element or just getting back in touch with nature, but Teddy and Jason both appeared to be at an odd point of peace. Teddy didn't feel worried about Slick Esposito out here; he felt oddly safe in the middle of B.C forests and mountains.

"Do you think Sophie will come home or do you think she'll stay in Cambodia?" Teddy asked as they'd taken a break on one of the large wooden bridges.

"She loves it," Jason sighed, "I miss her so much, she's my baby, but her eyes light up when she speaks about the orphanage and I'm so proud of what she's doing out there. I don't want her to come home if I'm honest. It's conflicting."

Teddy nodded, munching on his chocolate protein bar, staring up at the sky and gasping, "Holy shit, Taylor. Look at the sky!"

Never before had Teddy seen a night sky quite like what he was witnessing. There were rich blues and greens, splodges of dark pinks and purples, all mingled in together with a mass of sparkling stars above their heads.

"That's the milkyway," Jason mumbled, looking up at the sky.

"Is that a planet?" Teddy asked curiously.

"Did you just ask that?" Jason smirked, shaking his head, "No. It's not a planet. It's, um, the, uh, I don't know. The Nebula? Ryan would know."

"It's stunning," Teddy sighed, "Geez, Jason. I don't think I've seen anything more beautiful."

"Gail," Jason said, shrugging, "And Sophie. The only two things in my life more beautiful than that there." He sighed, looking at Teddy, "You want to look a little more or can we get moving again? There will be plenty star watching when we get there, I'm sure," Jason assured him.

They'd hiked a little more until Teddy started to hurt. The boots Taylor had gotten him were comfortable but after so many hours and so much walking, he was getting blisters. When Taylor had pulled them both off the road and up a steep, winding, slippery path, Teddy had nearly told him to 'Go fuck himself', until he'd spotted it;

Civilisation.

A wooden gate covered in a crawler type plant. With a bit of difficulty, Jason broke it open, holding it open for Teddy to pass through. He looked to his left and spotted a small wooden sign which read;

' _Secret Best Friends Lodge'_

Jason stopped and laid his hand fondly over the sign, taking in what sounded like a shaky breath. Teddy gave him a moment, walking ahead with his torch as he tried to see through the darkness. There was a garden, he was sure of that, and he was almost certain that they were near a river or lake because he heard water. Jason hurried up after him, his own torch beam casting a little more light towards their new home.

It was a small, cosy lodge from what Teddy could make out, with a porch and heavy wooden door embedded into a wall of red brickwork. Simple, he thought. Not the fortress he'd imagined but at this point he was utterly exhausted.

Tomorrow, he could explore. Tonight he needed sleep.

"I come up here once or twice a year, stock it up with tinned food, try and keep things clean," Jason explained, pulling a key out of his jean pocket from somewhere; Teddy had never seen it on his person yet and was amazed the damn thing had made it all the way from Seattle. He must have had it on his person at that damned concert the night they'd both been seen by Slick.

There was a real fusty smell when he opened the door; the smell of damp and dust greeting Teddy's nose. Jason didn't bother with the light switch and moved, instinctively towards a switch box, opening it and checking the fuses. Teddy didn't know what he did but it was enough to light up a few of the bulbs throughout the room, giving Teddy the first glimpse of his new prison.

It was simple, traditional, quaint and homely. He automatically fell in love with the dark wooden interior, even if it was caked in dust and cobwebs and a little smelly, and the family vibes he received from the many photos and trinkets around the room.

"There's two rooms," Jason said, checking the water at the adjoining kitchen sink, frowning, "Two bathrooms. A security room but I'll need to get the computer and cameras up and running tomorrow," he explained, opening a cupboard and pulling out a kettle. It looked dusty and he changed his mind about whatever he'd intended to do, putting it back in place, "There's also a weapons cupboard in my room; I come up here to go hunting sometimes so we're well stocked."

"Is this you?" Teddy asked, pointing at a photo of a very young and smiling man, dressed in his Marine uniform with two people, a black man and woman, on either side.

"It is," Jason said, "With Elizabeth there and…that's Calvin."

"They seem nice," Teddy mused, "I like Calvin's afro."

"His mom hated it," Jason chuckled sadly, "He deliberately grew it as big as he could while he was at college."

"Elizabeth's got her hand on your waist," Teddy observed, "And one on your chest too. Sure she's just a sister-like figure?" he tried to tease, sensing that Teddy being here was hard for the big bear; this may have been a Safe House but to Jason it was probably a Safe Place for him to escape when life got hard. Having Teddy in his space must have been hard.

"I've not seen Elizabeth in years," Jason sighed, scratching his jaw as he sat down, looking at the picture frame in Teddy's hand, "Not since after the funeral."

"She beautiful," Teddy nodded.

"She is," Jason agreed, "A beautiful person inside and out. We're not on great terms though."

"What'd you do?" Teddy pressed, putting the photo down and picking up another of Calvin.

"I slept with her after the funeral and didn't call her. For four years."

Teddy choked and nearly dropped the frame in his hand, turning round and glaring at Jason, "I can't believe you!" he gasped, "What happened?"

"I was married; it was a mistake. A moment of emotional weakness," Jason shrugged and Teddy saw him unconsciously stroking the burn scar on his arm, "When I left my wife I finally showed up at her door and, I don't know, I thought maybe we could pick up where we'd left off but by that point she'd started her family with a footballer. I moved up to Seattle a little after to work with your dad."

"So you lost Calvin…and then you lost Elizabeth?" Teddy winced, "Geez, Jason. That must have been hell."

"You've no idea," Jason admitted and then stood, "But things always work out in the end. I can't promise the bedsheets will be fresh or comfortable to sleep in, Ted, but make yourself comfortable. Tomorrow we can start a deep clean, okay?"

"Sure," Teddy nodded, "Where's my room?"

"You've got Sophie's room. Through the hall, on the left. I'll be next door. Bathroom's between us." Jason directed, leaving Teddy and heading to his bedroom.

.

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **London Bridge Hospital,**

 **London,**

 **England,**

 **UK**

 **.**

Ana smiled as she sipped her cup of tea, watching over Ryan as he slept peacefully. He was exhausted from the flight and what it had taken out on his body. Half way into their flight he'd become sick and had thrown up over himself and the inside of Christian's jet, the doctors on board worried he'd damage the stitching to his throat.

Now he was looking a lot better, healthier in the face and getting better by the hour. When Ana told him that Nora was on flight from Tokyo and coming to his side, Ryan had grinned the biggest, brightest grin possible and had even given her a thumbs up.

She hadn't told him about Gail's operation, deciding that he didn't need to know about Gail's tumour. All Ryan needed to know at the current moment was that Ana, Phoebe and Gail had come to England with him for safety and no other reason.

God, Ana was a ball of worry.

Even with Thompson and Stonehouse here to keep them all safe, Ana just couldn't shake this horrible feeling of anxiousness.

She was worried for Gail.

She was worried for Ryan.

She was worried for Luke, Reynolds and now Welch who was on his way to catch up with the boys.

She was terrified for Jason.

She was terrified for her daughter and trouble potentially finding her.

She was petrified for Teddy and her husband.

Ana took in a shaking breath and took a deep drink of her tea as she stared at Ryan's stubbly jaw. Sitting here, by his side, gave Ana a purpose and that purpose was to keep Ryan calm and comfortable until Nora could come and see him at last. What she'd do when Nora arrived, Ana had no idea. Hopefully by that time she'd have Gail to look after.

God that poor women was having an operation on her brain right now, as Ana sipped her drink. Gail was so fucking strong, Ana was in awe with her steely nerves as the doctors explained in detail how they'd operate, what her odds and chances were, what the possible complications were…but Gail was insistent that the tumour was to be removed now, like she'd promised her husband she'd do.

"Hey mom, I got a bacon roll," Phoebe said as she came back into the room with the tall, dark and handsome Stonehouse behind her, "Any word from Gail yet?"

"Not yet," Ana sighed, shaking her head, "Hopefully we'll hear in a few hours. Is the bacon okay?"

"It's delicious," Phoebe smiled, "Stonehouse ate his in seconds. Practically inhaled it."

Ana smiled and looked up at the two security guards assigned to keep them safe by Welch. They were very kind and fair men…but they weren't Luke Sawyer.

She missed her CPO's sarcasm and humour right about now.

If Luke were here, he'd have made a blow job joke, or a joke about liking 'meaty things'. Just something, anything, to try and make her laugh or to make light of this horrible situation.

Again, Ana's mind wondered back to Gail. Before going in for her operation, she'd given Ana her wedding rings and made her swear that if something went wrong that she'd look after Jason for her.

Ana hadn't known what to say and so she just agreed and nodded because of course she'd look after Taylor for Gail. She'd do anything for their Little Woman. Gail had then handed Ana a note to her husband, hand written and addressed;

' _To my Sailor'_

It was burning a hole in Ana's pocket this very moment, but she'd promised she would keep it and return it to Gail the minute she was awake and moving around post-operation. She had faith in the medical experts because all she could offer anyone right now was her faith.

"Has Dad found Teddy and Tay yet?" Phoebe asked then and Ana felt her heart break as she looked at her daughter.

"Not yet, baby," Ana sighed, wrapping her arm around Phoebe, "But I have faith in him. He'll find him. And you bet he'll ground Teddy's ass the minute he sees him," she tried to joke to make her baby less afraid for her dad and brother and beloved bodyguard.

Phoebe laughed slightly as she cuddled in under Ana's arm; mission accomplished.

.

.

 **A lifetime ago….**

 **The staff room,**

 **Escala,**

 **Seattle**

.

"Taylor?" Gail called, watching the big man scurrying about their shared apartment, desperately trying to keep his distance from her.

Since he'd moved in, they'd barely spoken more than a few sentences about work. He kept himself to himself, cleaned up after himself and even cleaned their communal living space. She never had any washing from him because Taylor did it himself, and he always left her a glass of rose wine on the counter for after she finished her working day.

Yet he could barely look at her which was a real pity to Gail because he had such a handsome face. And a killed body under those suits, Gail was sure.

"Taylor?" she called again and watched as the marine came through from his room.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Please don't ma'am me, Taylor," Gail smiled, pointing at the TV, "Do you want to watch the hockey with me?"

The look of fear that befell him made Gail frown. He tensed and gulped, his hands in fists suddenly too. Was she that repulsive? Was she that bad company?

"Come. Sit," Gail said more firmly, "It's the weekend. Mr Grey wont need you I'll bet. Come enjoy this wine with me and watch the hockey. Mr Grey says that you were a fan."

"I was just going to watch it in my room," Taylor strained as he walked over and sat, as far away from Gail as he could, it felt.

"Why do that when we can watch it together?" Gail laughed, pouring him a glass of wine, "Drink up."

Taylor picked up the glass and Gail could see his hands were shaking violently enough to cause the red liquid to slosh around in the glass. He got it to his lips but when Gail shifted on the sofa, he flinched badly and spilled some on the couch.

"Oops," Gail said, "Let me get-"

"I'll get it," Taylor squeaked.

He squeaked.

In a hurry, he ran to the sink and grabbed a cloth in panic. It was like watching a mad man, his eyes were wide in complete horror that he'd spilt wine on the sofa. Didn't he know Christian Grey was there boss? Realistically the man could buy them an entire sofa franchise if need be, but Gail was positive that the stain would come out reasonably well with elbow grease and her secret ingredients.

"There, there I'm getting it," Jason insisted as he got on his knees, rubbing the wine but spreading it rather than dabbing it. He was making it worse, not better, "I'm doing it."

"Taylor? Taylor stop. Stop you're making it worse. Taylor? Jason, stop right now!" Gail shouted and the big man froze, bowing his head as he began to breathe really fast. The trembling got worse too, and he couldn't look Gail in the eyes.

"Jason? Are you okay?" she asked softly, sitting down on the floor in front of him, "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Jason pleaded, "Please,"

"Please what?" Gail frowned, "What do you think I'm going to do to you? God, Jason; the way you just acted, you'd think I was going to hit you!" She laughed….then saw he didn't move, didn't laugh, just…braced himself.

Oh god.

Her stomach dropped as she realised what was afoot, why this big, strong man, had been avoiding her at every given moment.

 _Oh Sailor…_

She didn't know what to do, didn't know how to help, so she did the only thing she felt she could; she pulled him into her chest.

He struggled weakly but she wrapped him up tighter in her arms so that he couldn't retreat from her. Like a rapid dog, he lashed out and tried to push her away, but she refused to budge. She wouldn't let him hide from her anymore.

Only hen Gail was sure he wasn't going to bolt, she gently began to stroke his jaw and 'shuuush' him, her fingers brushing over the stubble of his buzzcut. It felt every bit as good as she'd imagined it would and, for a moment, she imagined herself in a different situation, running her hands through his hair as he made love to her on the floor. She felt guilty for allowing her mind to wonder but she honestly couldn't help it; after months of living together, she finally got to touch him for more than a few seconds in passing and she felt an instant spark. Like a pulse of electricity coursing through her body.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Jason," Gail promised one she pulled her mind out of the gutter, "You're safe with me. I swear. I won't touch you if you don't want me to, but I need you to calm down right now, okay? I'm going to let you go now."

Taylor nodded, but when Gail did let go, he held on to her tightly and didn't budge. The natural thing was for Gail to wrap her arms back around him and never let him go.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

 **.**

 **Missing his son like mad,**

 **Driving through Canada,**

 **Heading to British Columbia,**

 **.**

"Thank you, Reynolds, for everything you've done so far," Christian sighed, looking over at the bald guard who was now driving them through Canada. Reynolds had taken over driving the Toyota for Christian after he'd managed to get a few hours kip because Christian could not fucking stop stalling the damn thing. All his cars had been automatic and he'd not driven a manual since he'd began dating Ana.

They'd stopped off at a secure unit before venturing onwards to Canada. Reynolds had picked up what he called his 'Worst Case' bag; a large duffle camo print bag which was filled with an onslaught of weaponry. There were hunting rifles, knives, slim-line Kevlar chest plates which both Sawyer and Reynolds insisted Christian wore. There was also some sticky looking putty which Sawyer had gotten a boner over; C4.

Sawyer was recovering in the back, laying slumped under a heavy tartan blanket. He hadn't budged, focusing his energy on resting up his wounded body. In hindsight, Christian wished they'd left the SEAL back with his family but the reality was that in the current moment he was very much needed.

No one knew Jason Taylor like Luke Sawyer.

And having the suicidal maniac on their team was a strength.

Fuuuuuck. Christian couldn't believe that he had walked into the Esposito boy's building with the SEAL and CIA operative. That he'd had to carry those tortured little girls up the flights of stairs through gunfire. That he'd held a gun while Danni and Reynolds cleared the roof. That he'd flown that fucking helicopter to Sea-tac.

That he'd helped Reynolds smuggle Luke out of the hospital and into this goddamn Toyota.

Only once before had Christian found himself in serious peril when he'd been caught up in a country with political unrest but he'd had the strong and stable Jason by his side as well as the muscular genius Ryan. This, in comparison, was scarier. This time round, Teddy was in danger.

And for Christian, nothing frightened him more than losing his kids.

"Just doing my job, Sir," Reynolds shrugged, looking in the rear view mirror and frowning to himself as he sped up a little, "It was mostly Luke anyway; if I had my way we probably wouldn't have managed to save the girls."

"You went back for Luke though," Christian reminded Reynolds, "You could have left him. You didn't have to even come with us."

"Sawyer's a good man under all that Navy SEAL bravado. Annoying as fuck but honest and true," Reynolds shrugged, "If it was my family or Jason's or Ryan's or yours he'd be the first to volunteer to walk through hell for you. That's the reason Jason fought to keep him around after Jack Hyde; Sawyer's loyal, a team player, honest, brave."

"Being in the SEALs can't be the be all and end all," Christian pointed out, "I mean, you're former CIA. That's gotta give you a barrel of talents."

"Probably. But I can't discuss that with you, Sir. I did a lot of clandestine work," Reynolds shrugged.

"Anything I would know about?" Christian asked.

"Probably. My jobs made a lot of headlines when I completed them," Reynolds shrugged again and changed the subject quickly so to get off of the topic of his own talents and abilities, "Don't say anything for a few minutes," he mumbled.

"Huh?" Christian huffed and was a little put out but then noticed Reynolds glaring at the mirrors again. With one nod, Christian silently realised what was happening;

They were being followed.

"Luke, keep down," Reynolds mumbled softly but loud enough to rouse Luke, turning the stereo up loud.

"What?" he yawned, staring at the back of Reynolds seat, "What's going on?"

"I think we've got a tail. Four people in the red Volvo behind us," Reynolds explained, "Keep low. I don't know when they started following us. They might not know you're there."

"Fuck. What do we do?" Christian asked.

"We face them," Luke mumbled, shifting his sore body so he was closer to the whispering, "Next service station, pull in. You guys head in and grab snacks or whatever. I'll ambush them."

"What if they know you're with us?" Christian pointed out, "We'd be leaving you to die for a packet of pringles."

"Okay, I've got it," Reynolds nodded, taking a sharp left and speeding up a little more to overtake a lorry, "We're going to stop at the next service station, Grey is going to go inside alone and I'm going to walk over a patch of trees for a piss, as far away from the building as possible so we're not seen. They wont go in after Christian; they'll come to me first."

"You want to use yourself as live bait?" Luke laughed, "Reny, baby, you're starting to sound like me."

"I'm the fastest here. If something goes wrong, I can run faster than either of you," Reynolds observed, "If I can lose their car fast enough, Sawyer get yourself out of this car and hide. When they park and walk towards me, you come up behind them. Take the AK-47. The C4 too. If you're feeling up to it?"

"Hooyah," Sawyer grinned, "Speed up now then. They wont want to draw attention to themselves this soon in the trailing game."

"You're actually excited for this?" Christian asked Luke as Reynolds indicated to enter the fast lane, gradually speeding up as he overtook a long line of lorries carrying wood.

"Well I'm not scared," Sawyer shrugged, remaining down as he rummaged in the duffle bag on the floor of the car, "Christian; take this and this and this."

Christian frowned as he was handed a small gun, a slightly larger small gun and then a knife. He really didn't want to take any of the items but he did as Luke asked, trusting him.

"Keep yourself safe," Luke explained, "How long till the next service station?"

"Ten minutes," Reynolds called, "We're making good time. I see them still but they're about three cars behind us. I'm going for a forth and fifth before we get there."

"Fab," Sawyer nodded then cursed, "Fucking stitches," he winced as he rolled onto his stomach, "Jason's going to be sucking my balls for the next year for all this drama."

"Five minutes. We're clear," Reynolds announced.

"Why Jason? This is Teddy's fault," Christian pointed out.

"Because I'll have hung drawn and quartered Teddy before he's got a chance to say a word," Luke laughed, looking at the passenger door as he readied himself to roll out as quickly as he could, "Christian; I'm sorry I tried to kidnap Ana."

"I'm sorry your wife and daughters got captured because of my son," Christian replied, "I don't know what I'd have done if my Ana had been captured."

"Two minutes, Luke," Reynolds called, dropping gears to go around a roundabout, "There's a ditch to the left of the carpark. Ten seconds," he said, slamming on the brakes so hard that Christian's teeth nearly slammed into the dashboard.

Luke didn't flinch, throwing open the passenger door, slamming it behind him and leaping into a muddy looking ditch. He completely disappeared from view as Reynolds drove forward, keeping calm and collected as they left Luke behind.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Christian asked as they pulled into the relatively busy parking lot, picking a spot near the far side.

Reynolds turned off the engine, "I hope so. We need to permanently lose them. We could fuck about with evasive driving but deleting them is the easiest way."

Deleting.

Christian puzzled over Reynolds word choice but chose not to press it as he unbuckled his seatbelt and picked up his wallet. He'd followed instructions and ditched his bank cards, but not before taking out as much money as possible.

"Are you going to kill them?" Christian asked, watching Reynolds hiding a few guns down his pants.

"If it can't be avoided. These men who Esposito uses will be known to the police. When they turn up dead, there's never enquiries because of the amount of money Esposito and people like him will pay authorities," Reynolds shrugged, "It's sad but it's what happens when you play with dangerous men. Welch can straighten this all out once we've got where we're going but until then," Reynolds shrugged once more before getting out of the car. He popped the engine cover and lifted it up as though to appear as if there was a mechanical problem.

Christian got out too, trying to act as natural as he could. He joined Reynolds and stared at the engine, cursed lowly, kicked the car's tire, and stormed into the service station for snacks like planned.

It didn't take more than a few seconds before he saw the Volvo pull up into the car parking lot and he felt his stomach tighten with nervousness. He took a deep, deep, breath as he studied the array of chocolates and fruity snacks which were on offer in the busy little shop.

Ana liked Starburst fruit chews.

Phoebe loved chocolate nuts.

Teddy prefered mints.

Christian was a crisp man.

It seemed like decades ago since he'd sat with his family and watched a movie with his kids. Maybe it had been? There was that one time Christian had rented out a whole cinema complex so that Teddy could watch a film with Stephen safely, without requiring Ryan and Reynolds breathing down their necks.

Thinking about Stephen in this very moment was not going to help Christian calm down. He still remembered that horrible, heart-breaking phone call he'd received from Ana.

' _Come home, Christian. He's dead. He's dead I don't know what to do. Come home.'_

' _What? Who's dead?'_

' _Jason-'_

' _Jason's dead? Ana I need you to calm down, what's happened?'_

' _Stephen. Stephen's dead. Can you come home, Christian? I'm so scared, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to-oh god, Christian come home please please please I don't know what to do I don't know I don't know I don't-'_

"Are you okay there, mate?" a store assistant asked and Christian realised he'd been staring ideally at the confectionery aisle reminiscing on the dark days.

Only recently had Christian started seeing glimmers of the old Ana beginning to reappear. Her book was doing amazingly and she was slowly starting to fall back in love with life. The guilt was cancerous. It infested every cell in Ana's body. Taylor's too. Ryan was too damn logical for his own good at times and, although he was devastated initially, he'd 'gotten over it' as quickly as possible, although no one really could get over the preventable death of a child. He'd desensitised himself to the death, didn't go to the funeral, refused to talk about Stephen as a person.

It had first been very cold and Christian had nearly fired Ryan for his uncaring attitude until he'd had the disciplinary meeting with him and had been made aware of the man's reality.

' _Sir, I've killed children before. If a child did not heed my warnings I was obligated to protect my men and fire. They would have had names, families, hopes and ambitions but I can't focus ever on that because then it becomes real. Please don't think I'm uncaring because I do care. Very much. I love Stephen, just like everyone. I just can't let myself explore the reality that he's gone and that I couldn't save him. I need to keep it simple and subtract myself emotionally from what happened. A child fell with a dog lead around his neck which got caught. The child's neck broke under its body weight and he died instantly. There were contusions and deep lacerations to his throat. Done. Anymore dwelling and I'll end up like Taylor and Sawyer's already running himself ragged picking up the slack. The team needs me sharp."_

' _What's wrong with Taylor?'_

' _Oh, hasn't he spoken to you? It's not really my place to say but it'll be in his medical file and you've got complete access to those so if he asks, you looked yourself? He's been prescribed Xanax.'_

' _Xanax?'_

' _It's a minor tranquilliser, Sir. A benzodiazepine. Gail told me that he's been suffering real bad anxieties; insomnia, impotence, lethargy, change in appetite. The doc gave him something to help.'_

"Yeah, Sorry. Just looking for a type of fruity chew," Christian lied, picking up a few things for Luke and  
Reynolds to munch on and walking over to the counter. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted four men coming out of the Volvo and making their way around the corner of the building where Reynolds would be taking a leak by the bushes.

Out of nervousness, Christian tapped his fingers against the counter and tried to focus on the newspaper articles beside the cashier.

"That'll be twelve dollars," the young man croaked.

"Twelve bucks for just that?" Christian laughed, shaking his head. He'd never had to worry about the value of money until now that he no longer had access to his bank cards, "Fine. Can I get that newspaper too? And a tin of juice?"

"Usually people pick what they want before coming to the till," the young man said with serious attitude which reminded Christian of Teddy.

Cheeky fuck.

Christian glared and walked away to get some drinks and a newspaper, coming back to the cashier and handing over everything he'd picked up. Looking back out of the window, he caught sight of Luke Sawyer creeping across the carpark with his weapon held high and ready to strike.

God, he hoped Reynolds was alright.

Before he handed over his money, Christian noticed there was rope hanging beside a few driving amenities. He made a beeline for it, picking up five packets before returning for a final time to pay before the teenager behind the till got sassy again.

"Thanks," Christian said with mock cheer, putting everything into a bag and walking towards the door. He was worried about what he was going out to, his hand caressing the gun tucked up his sleeve.

His memory cast back to how Stephen's death had impact his wife and son's relationship. There was most certainly a hell of a lot of resentment from both parties as both Ana and Teddy delved into the depths of mental ill-health.

Ana had blamed Teddy for allowing Stephen to climb the tree when he was always told to never do so and for not taking the leads from their necks like Taylor asked.

Teddy blamed Ana for not cutting down the tree like she always said she would and blamed Taylor and Ryan for not being able to resuscitate Stephen.

Both loved ones had needed someone to blame when the reality was that Stephen's death had been a complete and utter accident. A Tragic twist of fate. No one was to blame for their hurt. All Christian could do was provide counselling for his family to help them overcome the death and become a strong family unit again but Christian was sure Teddy had failed to take his sessions seriously. Ana, at least, had worked hard these last few years to regain her life and try to help their son along the way.

But the trauma Teddy had endured had manifested into something ugly. Something Christian had seen in his own teenage years. One the worst days, when Teddy was shouting at anyone and everyone in an utter drunken rage, Christian almost wanted someone to step in like Elena had for him and direct him on a path to stability. Had Teddy not despised Taylor and Ryan so much, Christian would have wanted to see one of the two men steer Teddy into the army or the Navy; anywhere that would give his son the control that he seemed to think he was losing.

They were near twins, Christian and Teddy, and it hurt Christian to watch as his son continued down this path of chaos.

"GET DOWN!"

Christian turned and quickly rounded the corner of the building, gun ready just in case he needed to attempt to help the other two.

"He said get down!" Reynolds shouted furiously, "Get the fuck down. Get down. Get down!"

Four boys were on the ground, each barely older than Phoebe Christian thought. They were dressed up like some big shot bastard thugs; hoodies, tracksuit pants, sneakers, one had a baseball cap, another had two heavy weighing gold chains.

It was all very laughable; was this honestly the tail Esposito had sent to try and catch them?

"We're sorry," one of the smaller boys sobbed, Luke waving that goddamn hunting rifle in the little punk's face, "We're sorry-"

"Shut up!" Luke ordered and cracked the rifle behind the boy's head angrily, "Who the fuck sent you?"

"Damen-," the smallest boy started but was cut off when boy with chains shouted in his face.

"Snitches get stiches. I'll make sure you get raped in prison if you tell."

"Hey, 2-Chainz, zip it," Luke threatened then looked at the smaller boy, "Speak, kid, and I'll make sure you're kept safe. Who sent you?"

Smally wasn't for speaking so Reynolds took over. He grabbed Baseball Cap and dragged him back up to his feet by the scruff of his neck.

"Speak now, boys, or I'll torture it out of you," he said calmly, holding his pistol at Cap's head, "Ten seconds and I start shooting kneecaps."

"You wouldn't dare," 2-Chainz snapped, apparently the big shot in the quivering foursome.

In lightning speed, Reynolds dropped his gun from Cap's head, grabbed the kid's arm and held it out straight before slamming it across his thigh and snapping it clean.

Cap let out a scream which Reynolds caught in his palm; they were relatively hidden between the bushes and the building but a scream of pain would bring witnesses.

"Don't push him, kids," Luke said firmly, a smug look on his chops as he fell back into Good Cop mode, "You heard of waterboarding? It's this bald bastard's specialty."

"That's illegal," Smally chirped.

Christian burst out laughing himself there; waterboarding was illegal but four teenage boys attempting to kill the three of them was totally fine.

"Tell us who sent you and we tie you up," Christian offered, pulling the rope he'd just bought from his bag, glad both Luke and Reynolds had opted to 'disarm' rather than 'delete', a neat little pile of weapons by Luke's feet.

No one spoke.

Reynolds shifted his body and went to break Cap's femur when 2-Chainz suddenly jumped up.

"Damen sent us!" he declared, turning to look at Christian; he was apparently the one in charge here now, "Damon DeMiro. He's Slick's bodyguard. We were told to follow you and kill you as an initiation. I swear, that's all I know."

"Fuck," Reynolds growled.

"Do you know him?" Sawyer asked.

"He's former Marine. Welch gave me an FBI file on him and other men that the Esposito family are in contact with," Reynolds admitted, "DeMiro is a real nasty SOB."

"Will Sailor know him?" Sawyer asked, reverting back to their old code names which meant to Christian that they were intending to let the kids live, thank god. As much as Christian was angry now, he couldn't deal with having more kids die needlessly.

"Doubt it," Reynolds shrugged, pushing Cap back to 2-Chainz. The foursome's leader wrapped his arms around the other boys, staring as Reynolds approached, "Give me the rope. I'll tie them up. Frogman take these boys Volvo, The Eagle can take our Toyota, and use the C4 to make their vehicle useless. Check it for ID first though."

"Aye, Whippet," Frogman, Luke, saluted, tucking his rifle back under his shirt before helping Christian pick up the boys guns.

.

.

 **Early evening,**

' **Secret Best Friends Lodge',**

 **After a good night's sleep in a proper bedroom that he didn't need to share with any stinking Marine,**

 **Somewhere in British Columbia,**

 **Canada,**

 **.**

Teddy huffed as he finished dusting and wiping down the kitchen bunkers, amazed by how sweaty he'd become doing the fucking majority of the fucking housework no thanks to fucking Jason.

Taylor was being a fucking lazy asshole so it was up to Teddy to shift through the stale smell of the house and freshen everything up to a standard which even Gail would be proud of. The bathroom had been the easiest place to start and then Teddy had moved into the living room before finishing in the kitchen where he'd emptied and restocked the cupboards to his preferred standard.

He'd also went through the pantry and checked out the dates on the cans of food which were in there. Taylor had said he tried to come up once a year and apparently, when he did so, he would restock perished goods. That was pretty handy, Teddy thought as he grabbed a Cola and cracked it open.

"Fuck me," He huffed and took a long and tasty gulp, staring out the window towards the thick forest surrounding them. In the light of day, Teddy realised just how remote he and Taylor were out here. The view was spectacular with stunning snow-capped mountains behind them, a large lake before them and thick coniferous woods flanking them.

This morning he'd spotted a small family of deer-like things, nibbling at the scraps of Teddy's breakfast which he'd chucked outside. Taylor hadn't been happy when he'd done it because, apparently, that would attract bears and he'd made it clear that he wasn't wrestling a bear for Teddy.

Thinking about Taylor again, Teddy put his drink down and wiped his sweaty, dusty forehead. He headed through the wooden cottage towards Taylor's bedroom at the far side. Again, in the light of day, Teddy was pleasantly surprised by how much he loved the cottage. It was quaint, small and homely, with photographs of Calvin's family and Taylor pretty much everywhere.

Perhaps the most adorable photo and Teddy's favourite was one of the dreaded 'naked baby' photos everyone loved to hide when company came round for coffee. Both Taylor and this Calvin fellow were butt naked and playing in a lake, stood with fishing nets and soaking wet hair. Their little winkies were out too which was hilarious; Jason was a bear of a man, it was hard for Teddy to visualise him as anything but the tough Marine he'd grown up with. It was Teddy's favourite for multiple reasons.

Firstly, it reminded Teddy of summer days with the Taylors and Stephen where Dad and Uncle Elliot would set up a BBQ by the Grey's lakehouse. Mom would make banoffee pie with Gail and everyone would play a big game of football. If the weather was really warm and Taylor or Sawyer said it was safe, Mom would let them have a dip in the lake to cool off. One time they had left their swimming trunks at home so Dad and Teddy and Stephen had to swim in their boxers together. Those were good days. Fun days. Days were life was carefree.

Secondly, there was a vulnerability to the photo which Teddy had never seen before. He'd grown up with two strong men in his life; Jason Taylor and his father, Christian Grey. Teddy had never known either man to be anything but the strong and courageous figures he'd known all his life; it was like his dad and Taylor had just been born men and that caused Teddy a lot of angst. He worried about his own manhood and whether he was 'man enough' to ever amount to the greatness he witnessed from Dad, and Taylor and Sawyer and Reynolds and Ryan and even Uncle Elliot. There were few photos of dad as a child, despite Grandma Grace's best efforts; had dad ever been vulnerable and scared like Teddy often felt? Was Teddy weak for feeling so useless and pathetic in comparison to his father's legacy?

This photo of Jason looking so small with no front teeth, messy wet hair, a runtish frame, small bits and smaller hands, reminded Teddy of his own photos and gave him an odd sense of hope; _if that tiny naked kid could grow up to be Taylor, maybe I'm not a lost cause?_

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, Teddy couldn't believe how much Sophie looked like her father in this photo. Give Jason shoulder length hair, lose the cock and balls and give him breasts and they could have been twins easily. They'd the same cheekbones, same nose, same cheeky smirk and glint in their eyes. It was refreshing and reaffirmed to Teddy just how much he missed Sophie Taylor, his dearest friend.

"You awake, big guy?" Teddy called as he opened Taylor's door, not bothering to knock before entering. Taylor wasn't up to full strength just yet, Teddy knew that too well. He'd rather have seen the marine rest than try and help around the house. But, of course, Taylor complained and spent the morning sorting out the electrics before somehow managing to get the boiler up and running.

Apparently Luke Sawyer was a qualified electrician from his pre-SEAL life and had shown Jason the basics over the decades they'd worked together.

Go figure; apparently Luke wasn't a complete idiot.

Shortly after getting hot water flowing however, Jason had agreed to sleep off his sore head after a dizzy spell had him vomiting outside. Teddy had seen him go to bed and was surprised to see that the Marine hadn't moved much five hours later. He was snoring loudly, cuddling his pillow as his large chest rose deeply.

"Oi," Teddy called and kicked his foot dangling over the edge of the bed, "You alive?"

"Mmmm do that again, Gail," Jason mumbled, burying his face in the pillow with a low, sleepy groan.

Fucking lazy bastard; he hadn't even stripped down to sleep, still wearing his jeans and shirt.

Teddy huffed and walked back through to his own bedroom, or rather the bedroom Calvin had intended for baby Sophie's usage for when Taylor was supposed to take her into hiding from his ex. It was a pastel yellow colour, with what looked like an old nursing chair in the corner, a travel cot and also a single bed which Teddy had slept in the night before. It was nice….but not how Teddy would want his own child's bedroom.

Nope, Teddy would want greens for his kids. He'd always like the colour, it was natural and calming. His psychiatrist had told him that it was a very fresh colour and to surround himself in pale shades of greens and blues when he felt his temper boil. That advice was why he'd had his own room painted like that; to give him a calm sanctuary to go to when he needed it.

He flopped on the bed and stared up at the wooden ceiling, bored out of his skull. He wanted to go exploring, wanted to check out the lake especially now he'd seen the photo of baby Jason and Cal. But he knew not to leave without Taylor. Knowing Teddy's luck, he'd end up lost and witnessing another god awful gang hit.

Were there gangs in Canada?

Maybe, Teddy mused. He hadn't expected there to be gangs in Seattle.

Maybe-

Bang.

Bang bang.

Teddy heard the sound of car doors closing. Instantly, his stomach dropped and he felt himself begin to panic.

They'd been found.

Slick had found them.

They had been found and now they were going to die.

The bedroom door opened and Jason appeared, a gun in hand and a hunting rifle in the other. Apparently restocking the kitchen cupboards wasn't the only thing Taylor did when he visited this place. The wardrobe in his bedroom was filled with all sorts of ferocious looking weapons.

"The Kitchen's backdoor. If something goes wrong, you run out there and you do no look back," he instructed firmly, handing Teddy the smaller hand gun, "Do not stop."

"I'm not leaving you," Teddy growled.

"You don't have a choice on this," Taylor snapped, grabbing Teddy and yanking him out of his bedroom and through to the kitchen where he backed Teddy up in a corner behind him, the big bear's body acting as a shield.

"Maybe it's just Jehovah's?" Teddy whispered, clutching the foreign gun in his hand.

"I'll blow their fucking brains out for scaring me if it is," Taylor growled, cocking his gun and lifting it to aim, "Shhhhh."

Teddy laid his forehead against Jason's back, taking in a deep, steadying breath.

This was it, Teddy was sure. After everything, this was it. Their safe house was compromised; Slick had found them. This was-

" _Calm your tits, Dr Evil; I'm walking wounded."_

" _Did you just call me Dr Evil? Really, Sawyer? A bald joke?"_

" _Not my best, I know, but I'm sore so walk at my pace."_

" _Is this Taylor's Safe House? Are you sure this is the place? There's no car anywhere."_

" _This is the place Welch directed us to, Mr Grey. There might be another clue inside. This might just be a random house."_

" _I just want my boy."_

Teddy darted forward at speed but nowhere near as fast as Jason who'd almost dropped his rifle as he ran through the house and towards the front door. He threw it open quickly, Teddy hot on his heels.

The three men before them jumped in startle, all three lifting guns up towards Taylor and Teddy before realisation clicked. They looked like Hell but Teddy was sure that both he and Jason didn't look their best right now either.

"Teddy?" Dad called in disbelief, lowering his gun and taking a step forwards.

"Dad!" Teddy roared, dropping that handgun in his hand as he charged down the steps and threw himself into his father's welcoming embrace.

"Teddy, oh my god, Teddy. Are you okay? Are you hurt? Oh God I've got you. I've got you. Oh god-"

"Dad, you came for me."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Well after midnight,**

 **Francis Avenue,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington,**

 **.**

Damen squeezed the bridge of his nose as he listened to the fucktard on his speaker phone babbling on and on about shit which was absolutely not going to help him find Grey and Taylor. And his nuts were on the line if he didn't find the brat and the Marine.

Shame to kill a fellow Marine, Damen thought as he stared out of his car window towards his home.

Melinda had let the dogs out to piss before bed and the little yappy fuckers were digging up the new turf Damen had laid just last week. He had to stop letting her adopt dogs, he thought; they already had seven rescue mutts. True, she worked at a dog shelter, but that was no excuse to keep bringing home new family additions because 'this one's special.'

She'd said that seven times now; how special were these mutts?

"… _so the shipment will be arriving tomorrow if all goes well, Damen."_

"I'll let the Boss know," Damon grumbled, picking at a piece of loose skin by his thumbnail, "I'll be honest, Jackson, I don't give a flying fuck about the fucking shipment. I'm tied up with this Grey shit; the Seattle Police Department have issued a warrant for Slick's arrest. It was only a matter of fucking time but it means now we've got to up the search. The video's accurate enough but it's grainy. Grey and Taylor just need to confirm it was Slick they saw and we're all fucked."

" _Shit, Damen."_

"You're telling me," Damen huffed and slumped back in his seat as his beautiful wife stepped outside to usher in the dogs. She waved towards him and blew him a kiss before disappearing after the three legged greyhound, "Slick's in hiding. Need to know. I had two tails on Christian Grey and his two bouncers. One tail got beat up and taken into police custody a little North of the Canadian boarder. The second tail's yet to get in touch with me and tell me where we stand."

" _Damen you need to get outta there_ ," Jackson said, " _If Slick goes down then so do you."_

"I know," Damen grumbled, "There's too much at fucking stake right now though, Jackson. Melinda can't just leave her job either."

His screen flashed suddenly, his second tail on Christian Grey finally checking in with what he knew. They really didn't have the resources to be sending out so many people to follow Christian Grey, Luke Sawyer and James Reynolds, all of whom Damen was sure would lead them to Theodore Grey and Jason Taylor.

"That's The Tick, Jackson. I'll catch you tomorrow," Damen said.

" _Take care, man."_

There were a group of young lads who seemed to talk the talk and eager to earn their stripes. They were really disposable to the Esposito business so Damen had sent them up ahead to follow Christian Grey and perhaps make contact. If the boys died then it was no skin off Damen's nose so he'd handed them a car and a few throw away weapons to sweeten the deal.

Behind them, however, the expert drove. He's services had cost Slick a six figure sum but he was the best in the business, a tracker of almost spiritual greatness. As a Marine, Damen believed he had some pretty impressive tracking skills and the grit to go for hours and hours following his prey. This guy could go months without being discovered. They called him The Tick for that reason; he could attach himself to prey without being discovered until he'd received a hefty paycheck for the job.

The Tick had informed Damen that the boys had tried to make contact and prove their worth to the Esposito family but had underestimated their adveseries and also their abilities. What fucking fourteen year old honestly felt they could take on a SEAL and a former CIA operative?

Fucking idiot children.

"Damen speaking."

" _They're in Canada. I've faxed you the address."_

Faxed, Damen laughed, how old school.

"Thanks," Damen said, "Did you make contact at all?"

Silence.

"Have you seen them in the location you're giving me?"

More silence.

"Your money is at the pickup point," Damen said, realising he wasn't going to get anything from the Tick other than a location. And he had every faith that the location was spot on.

" _Thank you."_

Damen heard the phone connection die and sighed, slumping back against the seat of his car as he thought about his options.

He'd know Slick since the kid was a baby and he'd been paid a pretty million to keep him safe and out of harm's way. Slick's father was career driven and had made his millions in illegal business trades, starting as a petty crook and working his way up to infamous status. Every week they were investigated and every week the authorities came up dry because the family was so respected.

Respected and corrupt; they'd paid off more than ten members of the SPD and had more lawyers than a Law School. In legal respects, the family had always been untouchable.

Until Slick fucked up.

When Damen had heard that Slick had been caught on camera being the childish prick that he'd grown up to be, he'd felt responsible. After all, his own father didn't have time to care for his kid and Damen had really had to teach him most of what he knew. Apparently the Boss didn't understand that kids had to be potty trained before they could progress from Kindergarten, irrespective of how much money you were willing to throw that way.

He'd heard on the grapevine that the police now had a warrant for Slick's arrest and had, apparently, built up a case against the kid. The heads up had given Damen enough time to get Slick in hiding for his own safety until they located and shot the eye witnesses. Their lawyers couldn't do jack shit against Christian Grey's lawyers AND eyewitnesses.

They'd need at least a week to organise enough men and specialists to find the Greys and mobilise them to where they needed to be. But that was tomorrow's job.

He finally got out of his car and stretched his legs, walking towards his house and avoiding the dog shit everywhere.

"Honey, I was worried you'd sleep in your car," Melinda greeted him, walking over and kissing him instantly, "What's wrong? You look stressed."

"It's nothing," Damen smiled, kissing her nose and hugging her tightly.

"Trouble in the office?" Melinda asked.

"Yeah, lot of trouble," Damen sighed.

"You're the best accountant there though, honey," Melinda said, naive to his actual job.

There was no way this beautiful woman deserved to know how much of a monster her boyfriend was. In the early days he had been an accountant for the Espositos before he'd been earwigged for more…physical work. Melinda just didn't get to know the body counts or the number of kidnappings he had helped collaborate, the poor bastards he tortured, the amount of fingers and toes he'd willingly removed from people…

"Thanks, Baby," Damen sighed, "Lets go to bed. Tomorrow's a new day."

"Sure sweetie, but first I ran you a bath. Go relax while I get the dogs ready for bed," Melinda insisted, kissing him once more, "I may have a little treat for you later…"

"Oh yeah?" Damen said and forced a smile, "Do I get a clue?"

"Hmm," Melinda purred, giving him that mischievous smirk that usually meant she was going to put him through his paces tonight, "Okay, I'll give you a clue; you're not getting pussy tonight."

Damen laughed and lightly stroked her ass, "What's the occasion?"

"You've been so preoccupied; tonight is about you, Sweetie," Melinda smiled sweetly, kissing his nose, "Now go get that bath. I'll reheat some mac'n'cheese for you."

 **.**

 **The next morning….**

' **Secret Best Friends Lodge',**

 **Somewhere in British Columbia,**

 **Canada,**

 **.**

Teddy stretched in his bed, yawning tiredly as he sat up and looked around his empty room. The night before, Dad had shared his bed with him, sleeping top'n'tail whilst Reynolds had slept on a bed of sofa pillows and throws on the pink fluffy rug. There had been a bit of…drama amongst the sleeping arrangements; Jason didn't want to share a room with Reynolds. It hadn't been said in so many words but his body language when Dad had asked where everyone would be sleeping.

Sawyer had volunteered to share with Jason whilst Reynolds had been stuck with staying with Teddy and Dad to protect them through the night. Not that anyone was honestly any use in hindsight. Teddy could hear Sawyer and Jason snoring through the house, Dad had fallen asleep mid-conversation and then Reynolds had KO'ed on his nest after his shower.

Waking up now, Teddy was totally alone in his room. He hadn't even felt dad leave the bed, he'd been that exhausted himself. Stretching and cracking his shoulders, he stood and tucked up his morning wood before studying his little nicks and cuts from the cliff jump. He was less bruised for sure and the cuts were healing quickly. He dressed in his clothes from the day before and headed out to living room.

"What are you doing?" he asked when found Reynolds, Luke and Jason all sitting around the dining table with letters before them.

"Jason's going to the nearest town to send Welch a letter," Luke explained, looking up from where he was writing. He folded his letter in half and placed it into an envelope, "So we're all posting letters to our loved ones. You know, just in case," he said, licking the envelope.

"Just in case of what?" Teddy frowned as he walked over, seeing Reynolds had signed his;

' _To Craig and Mei x'_

"In case we die," Jason decided to clarify, looking directly into Teddy's eyes, "if you've got anything you'd like to say, write it down and I'll post it for you when I get in town."

"I don't know what to say," Teddy admitted and scratched his head, "Are you going soon?"

"Soon enough," Jason explained, "I can wait up if you've got something important to say."

"Has Dad written anything?" Teddy asked as he took Sawyer's place at the table, the big SEAL heading through to the living area to sleep on the sofa. He was recovering but Teddy was yet to hear the gory reasons as to why.

"Yeah he did," Reynolds said, looking at his watch as he stood and headed through to the main bedroom.

"Okay, I'll give it a bash. I'll be as quick as I can, Taylor," Teddy said and took a few sheets of the notepad, picking up a pen, "Where's dad?"

"Getting changed into some warmer clothes. He's going with Reynolds to check the snares I set up," Jason explained, grabbing himself a soda from the fridge and cracking it.

Teddy sighed and stared at the paper in front of him, trying to decide what to say and who to even say it to. Phoebe? Mom? Gail? Sophie?

All of them?

He shook his head and started to write to Phoebe first, deciding that out of everyone his sister was perhaps the one he needed to forgive for his behaviour. After Stephen had died, he'd gone off the rails and it was at his little sister's expense. He should have been her protector when she got bullied, not aggravating her situation by being her asshole older brother.

' _Pheebs. I know weve had our difarences.'_

No that wasn't right.

' _diffarinces'_

No, that wasn't right either.

' _Bifference'_

No, no, no, no.

Fuck this, Teddy thought, deciding not to bother writing to his family. What was the point? He couldn't write for shit anyway.

In frustration, he ripped the piece of paper off the notepad, scrunched it up and-

"What are you trying to spell?" Jason asked and Teddy realised that his father's CPO was stood watching him, sipping his soda slowly.

Teddy glared at him, feeling a sudden flare of anxiety burning his chest. His instant reaction was to lash up and distance himself from the task at hand, call Jason an ugly perv for watching him like he was…but that was the old Teddy. The New Teddy took a deep breath and tried his best to swallow down his anxieties about his inadequacies.

"Differences," Teddy admitted, not able to look at Jason when he said that, "It's been a long time since I wrote anything. I usually just use text speech and even then I have predictive text on my phone."

"Want me to do it?" Jason asked, sitting down with his can of soda, "Or I can sit with you and help spell bigger words."

"Could you? I'll write it but it's just so I know that the right words are getting spelt," Teddy chuckled weakly.

"Differences. D-i-f-f-e-r-e-n-c-e-s," Jason said, sipping his drink as Teddy continued with his letter as quickly as his abilities let him, "Who are you writing to?" Jason asked.

"Everyone," Teddy admitted, finally looking up at Jason now that he felt…non-patronised. The marine was just sitting there, quietly, saying very little until Teddy asked him to spell a word. He finished a short paragraph to Phoebe then moved on to Gail, "I need to tell Ryan I'm sorry for calling him a retard."

"First time I've ever seen that big fucker cry," Jason said, and Teddy instantly felt a bang of guilt. He was fully aware that Jason had had a lot of heated words with his dad over Teddy's heartless comments to the CPO who'd been with him since he was in kindergarten. Ryan had autism, the guy was ridiculously intelligent and a complete asset to the security team, so to be called something so deliberately cruel, a word which had haunted him since his youth, had really broken the former army Ranger.

"Gail had found him crying quietly in the staff kitchen," Jason added. It wasn't said in a nasty way or in an accusing way. He just said it as an observation so that Teddy could truly understand how much his comments had hurt the people he loved. And he did love Ryan; everyone did. Teddy appreciated, also, that the welfare of the staff was Jason's responsibility and he'd made it very clear to Christian that if Ryan walked, so would Jason and Sawyer and probably Reynolds because his mother had told him when she'd tried to confiscate his phone for his behaviour.

"Can you proof read this note? It's for Phoebe," Teddy said and handed Jason his small paragraph, written in handwriting which Teddy was absolutely ashamed of.

' _I know we've had our differences and I'm sorry I wasn't a better big brother but I promise that I will do my best to be there for you. I got told you're wanting to join the Navy and I'm so proud of you and can't wait to see where that path takes you. I love you, Phoebe._

 _Ted x'_

"Perfect," Jason nodded, handing it back and swapping Phoebe's note for Gail's, "Are you sure I'm going to want to read this?"

"I think so," Teddy said and saw Jason's cool demeanour wobble momentarily as he read what Teddy had written to Gail. It was shorter, there was less he had to say to Gail other than 'Sorry for being a prick' and 'I love you like a mother x'.

"She'll like this," Jason said and cleared his throat before draining the last few drops of soda from his can, "It'll cheer her up."

"Has Dad said any more about her?" Teddy asked as he wrote to Ryan next, "Oh, how do I spell apologise?"

"A-p-o-l-g-i-s-e," Jason said, then frowned, "No wait, 'A-p-o-l-o-g-ise," he repeated, "Yeah, that looks right."

"Thanks," Teddy smiled fleetingly, "So, Gail."

"All I know is they landed in Cardiff and drove to London," Jason shrugged, "I know her brain tumour isn't cancerous from the sample they took a couple of days ago…or so they said at the time. That can change when they, uh," he suddenly went white, "When they open up her skull."

"She'll be fine," Teddy assured Taylor, "You know Gail; she'll be more worried they knock the part of her brain responsible for her cooking," he tried to joke, then realised making a joke like that wasn't helping Jason.

"Does that happen?" he asked Teddy nervously.

"Well maybe?" Teddy shrugged, "I don't honestly know. I'm not a brain surgeon."

"I never thought about brain damage," Jason admitted and Teddy instantly regretted trying to make light of the situation as Jason put down his tin of soda and ran his hand through his outgrown buzzcut, "What if she forgets who I am?"

"That's not going to happen, Jason. Dad's paying for the world's best surgeons," Teddy reminded him, taking hold of his hand and staring straight into the man's deep blue eyes, "Calm down. Think logically."

Jason nodded and took a deep breath, removing his hand from Teddy's pretty quickly, "Queer," he mumbled and stood, like a prick.

"I'm just trying to be nice," Teddy huffed.

"I know," Jason said and squeezed his shoulder as he walked towards the snoring Sawyer on the sofa. He nudged the man's legs and Sawyer woke momentarily, lifted his upper body so that Jason could sit before laying his head back down on the Marine's lap.

So Teddy holding Jason's hand to comfort him was 'queer' but cuddling Sawyer on the sofa wasn't?

Glaring a little, he turned back to his letters and focused on trying to write nicely.

.

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **London Bridge Hospital,**

 **London,**

 **England,**

 **UK**

 **.**

Nora was a big woman, with wide hips and full breasts and a little extra weight around her cheeks. She reminded Ana of very traditional female beauty, of Peter Paul Rubens' artwork. Her facial structure was perfect and very much something Ana was envious of; she had high cheekbones and dimples when she smiled, golden blonde hair and naturally shaped eyebrows that required the bare minimum to tame.

She'd recently taken a job in Tokyo, working in a nursery there as an English-speaking EYP which was why she hadn't been able to visit Ryan in hospital until now; Welch, acting to Ryan's wishes, wouldn't allow her back home when everyone was already in danger.

Ah... _Ryan_.

Jonathan Ryan was built like a Greek god with flawless white skin, a solid eight pack, rich chocolate brown hair and matching brown eyes which had a slight honey tined colour. Given his background as a formidable US Army Ranger, Ryan had the tools to be like Sawyer; successful with women and any sexual conquest he set his mind to.

But unlike Luke, or Jason for that matter, Ryan had the sweetest personality Ana had ever known; friendly, adorable, kind. He was the sort of man she wanted for Phoebe, a man who her grandmothers would love, someone who Christian would accept.

They knew a lot about Ryan because he, unlike every other flipping male in Ana's life, was open about his scars.  
Born a twin to a heroin addict, he'd lived with his brother and mom until she'd died of an overdose. Like Christian, he'd been trapped with his twin in the house for four days until a group of Mormons knocked at their door. He'd been in care all his life which was wear he'd stopped talking for a period of time, only making a conscious effort to speak during high school. After that his brother went off to law school in NYC on a scholarship and left Ryan in the dust so he'd been told to join the military for a sense of belonging.

He was so open and honest about everything, there was never a secret, which was what Jason and Christian liked about Ryan; he was reliable and loyal and could be trusted to admit to his mistakes.

He'd saved her husband's life a few times in the past; being a philanthropist often meant trips to dangerous places where Christian had gotten himself embroiled in some difficult spots. So for that reason, Ryan would always own a special place in Ana's heart. He was like a little brother to her, more than a CPO.

"Hey, Ryan," Ana smiled softly, stroking his arm when she noticed his eyelashes twitch.

He opened his sleepy, groggy eyes and smiled, like always. Throughout all the extensive surgery, he'd always come round with an adorable Boy Scout smile. He placed a hand over the bandage where Reynolds had performed a life-saving tracheotomy, "Hey, Ana," he said back, "Gail?"

Talking was tough for him and he had to be sure to press down on the wound dressing before speaking. Reynolds had saved the man's life with his quick thinking, and the amazing surgeons had done a fantastic job in not letting him die.

Ana knew Christian would never forgive himself if they lost Ryan. He'd find a reason to blame himself, she just knew he would. Even though it was Ryan's job to save her husband, Christian would be devastated.

"She's doing well," Ana assured him, stroking his arm, "She was awake most of the time I think."

"Cool," Ryan grinned big, such a nerd.

"Nora arrived," Ana continued, "She's with Phoebe back at the hotel. It was a really long flight. She came past here but you had just had your pain meds and were sound asleep," she chuckled, "She left you another Pokemon for your bed."

She lifted up the weird blue turtle thing so he didn't need to strain to see it, bringing it up to where he'd a collection of the weird colourful creatures.

"God, she's amazing," Ryan said, that adorable grin changing into a very longing, almost...lustful? As though there was an in-joke going on that Ana wasn't aware of. It was the first time Ana ever noticed Ryan express any form of emotion other than Labrador positivity.  
"Well get yourself well and you can play Pokemon all you want," Ana said firmly as she got up and headed over to the watercooler for a glass of water, "I'm going to go back to the hotel for some sleep. Phoebe, Nora and I will come back early evening when Gail's allowed visitors."

"When can I go see her?" Ryan asked curiously.

"When you think you're ready to move. No one is pressuring you to move until you're ready," Ana assured, sipping her glass, "You, Phoebe, Nora, Gail and I are a team just now. We're going to help each other through these next few days. Just like Welch, Christian, Sawyer and Reynolds are helping Teddy and Jason."

"Have you heard from them?" Ryan pressed.

"Not yet; but Welch did call to say they have a warrant out for Slick's arrest. They just can't find him. Once they have found him though, they need Teddy and Jason to finally come in and give eye witness accounts." Ana shrugged, "I don't know the legality of it all. Roz has kindly organised GEH's Lawyers. Rallying the troops for me and Christian," she smiled and shook her head, "Don't worry about them just now. Focus on healing."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-one**

 **.**

 **Three days since Christian, Luke and 'Reny' arrived,**

 **Secret Best Friends Lodge',**

 **Somewhere in British Columbia,**

 **Canada,**

 **.**

"I've no idea who this guy is," Jason admitted as he read and reread Damon's file. He'd been studying it intently for the last few days, taking his time to try and think about who the man could be and if he'd served along side Jason at any point.

His face was familiar and Teddy also concurred that Damen DeMiro had been present with Stefano Esposito Jr –Slick- that night back in Liquid Knights where they had witnessed Slick putting a bullet through some poor bastard's skull. Or rather Teddy had witnessed the shooting; Jason had just witnessed Slick's presence and also the multiple gunshots being fired at himself and Teddy which would get Slick jail alone.

Reynolds nodded in sympathy and scratched the beard he'd somehow managed to develop in the last few days living in this bizarre Canadian Cabin. Everyone was looking a lot more gruff and hairier actually; Taylor's buzzcut non-existent now and instead a crop of bright ginger which rivalled that of Christian and Teddy's copper stubble and waves. Without his hair products, Luke's hair had reverted back to being fluffy and shapeless but at least he looked adorable. Reynolds just looked weird, Luke thought, as though his head was upside down since he was completely bald on top with a thick browny red beard on his chin now.

"I didn't think you'd know him to be honest, Jason," Reynolds admitted, and Luke focused back on the task in hand; pooling together everything they knew about Damon and Slick, "It was just on the off chance. I read 'Marine Corps' and my dick twitched."

"His face isn't ringing any bells from the golden days, but then when he was going through bootcamp I was already in active duty; Desert Storm," Jason explained as he tapped the date of Damon's enlistment, "What was the dishonourable discharge for?"

"I don't think he treated local women very nicely," Reynolds said delicately, "As for his criminal record sheet; it's clean. He's so protected by the Esposito that he could be found with a human head in his fridge and he'd walk away free as a bird."

"Sounds familiar," Christian said, deciding to try his hand at humour. He got a few smiles but no one had the mental energy to do more than that. Certainly, Luke wasn't up for it just now. He was sore and stiff and missed his girls badly. Being trapped out here, in a cabin with Jarhead, Dr Evil, The Boss and the Brat, was an utter sausage fest. Danni was very much missed.

He thought back to the image of his feisty little Italian bride; watching Danni brandishing an AK-47 and screaming at Esposito's goons had been a serious turn on. Well, not at the time; Luke had been trying his damned hardest to just keep his blood in his body rather than have it run to his dick. Looking back on it, however, he'd had a few sneaky wanks to the memory.

There wasn't much else to do but wank anyway, Luke thought. On the first day they'd gone to the nearest community once to send letters and gather up supplies but that was it for entertainment. Taylor had at least come back with some beers and marshmallows so they could pretend they were on a camping holiday and have smores. But Luke was pretty certain that everyone here would much rather be with their families. This was possibly the longest Grey had gone without fucking Ana, Luke realised, and he was surprised there wasn't a glory hole drilled into the wall.

"When's Welch coming?" Christian asked, Luke pulling his mind out of the gutter long enough to hear the question.

"As soon as he has the resources," Reynolds reminded him, "He's a security agency provider, not a vigilante. The fact he and his men are offering to help back us up really will tarnish his company's credibility."

"He knows you three are with me; he must do, but that letter I sent him will be the confirmation," Jason said, running a hand through his orange hair, "I need a shave. Anyone fancy running the electric razor over it?"

"I can," Teddy, out of everyone, volunteered. It took Luke back and he stared at Teddy curiously, unable to believe that the young man was offering to help anyone, least of all Jason. That was weird.

"Thanks, Ted," Jason nodded and yawned, "I'll go get it."

"Sure, T," Teddy said and stood, stretching out his skinny arms, "I'll go get us some more firewood."

"I'll come too," Reynolds volunteered and put away the file on Damen, grabbing his hoody and following Teddy outside.

What the fuck was that all about?

Christian looked just as shocked, staring after his son and Reynolds. "Did he just offer to help someone else?" he asked, looking at Luke with a risen eyebrow, "Did that just happen?"

"I…think so?" Luke admitted and sat up, "I hope so. It's about time he started thinking about others."

"God, don't I know," Christian mumbled, scratching his chin and staring at Luke then, "I better go check the rabbit snares. Do you want to come with me?"

"Sure," Luke nodded, "I'm feeling more like myself now I've been sat on my arse for the last few days. Lets go get dinner."

.

 **That evening,**

 **Enjoying home cooked rabbit stew and lukewarm beer,**

 **Sitting out behind the Secret Best Friends Lodge,**

 **Somewhere in British Columbia,**

 **Canada,**

.

"Tonight would have been mine and Craig's anniversary. We had tickets for a show," Reynolds mumbled as he placed his stick out over the fire and cooked his marshmallow.

"Opera?" Dad asked, sipping his beer and roughing it in a way which Teddy had never seen his father do before. He was sitting on the ground, feet towards the fire and a plate of stewed rabbit on his lap which he was eating by piercing hunks of the meat with a knife since there was a shortage of forks. With his shaggy hair and bristling beard twinned with the pallid shirt Taylor had lent him, dad looked like a Mountain Man. Mom wouldn't recognise him whatsoever, Teddy was sure.

Yet it seemed as though it was natural to dad to sit as he was; head resting on Taylor's thigh who was sitting on the log dad was leaning against.

"Opera? How bourgeoisie," Reynolds quipped and Teddy saw his dad actually laugh. But surely Reynolds had just insulted him? After all, bourgeoisie was something to do with being super rich, right?

"Yeah, I can't stand it," Dad said, "I get dragged alone 'cause Jason likes Elina Garanca."

"Fuck, yes I do," Jason mumbled, mouthful of stew, "That voice gives me wood."

"The pair of you, honestly," Luke laughed, enjoying his own beer, "You're like some old married queer couple."

"I'm the top," dad announced and Teddy nearly choked. He was coughing and spluttering enough for Luke to slap his back manfully whilst Jason whacked dad's head.

"You fucking wish," Jason growled, stealing some of dad's rabbit as revenge.

Reynolds let out a deep sigh, shaking his head and looking up at the British Columbian starlit sky, "I could be at home, fucking my husband right now." he mumbled, catching everyone off guard with his bluntness. Teddy's jaw dropped to the ground; he'd never heard Reynolds say more than a few words in the past, let alone talking about his sex life so openly. The guy was gay too, surely he knew that talking about fucking a man was taboo in a group of hetero men, right?

"Aw, Reny, are ya horny?" Luke whistled almost gleefully, sliding off the rock he'd parked his ass on and crawling over to where the skinny bald man was stargazing, "I'm not as colourful as your husband but Danni says I've got the hot ass in the security squad."

Geez, this was too fucking odd for Teddy, watching as Luke laid his head on Reynold's chest and cosied in, Reynolds wrapping his arm around the muscular man's body.

"You've the second hottest ass," Reynolds mumbled, stroking Luke's hair, "Ryan's got the nicest. He's been training with Jason."

"What's wrong with Jason's?" Dad teased, warranting another whack from his usual CPO.

Reynolds and Luke both laughed, "Jason doesn't let anyone near his ass," Reynolds laughed, "Do you think I want to get crucified for rating his?"

"Gail likes my butt and that's enough for me, thank you very much," Jason growled uncomfortably, becoming prudish and tense unlike everyone else who appeared to remain open and joking. As if they didn't have an impending drug lord family hunting them. Maybe it was the beer and warm rabbit stew but Teddy could almost pretend that he was out camping with his father rather than hiding from the world on an improvised witness protection program. "Things come out; they never go up."

"You never had a rimjob before?" Reynolds asked bravely, Luke bursting out in laughter. Dad laughed loudly too and Teddy had to join in, watching Jason's face go from utter shock to anger.

"What do you think?" Jason scoffed, "Do I look like the kinda guy that wants their wife to do… _that_!?"

"But you'd do it to someone else?" dad intervened, looking up at Jason from by his feet.

"Well, yeah, but that's different," Jason scoffed.

"How is that different?!" Luke laughed loudly, "Honestly Taylor, you're my bestfriend but dude, you're so closed minded. Honestly, when all this fuckery is over, get your wife to lick your button."

"Sawyer you're getting on my last nerve," Jason warned, "Calm down."

To Teddy's surprise, Luke did just that. He stopped acting up and, instead of continuing to piss Jason off, went back to getting the back of his neck massaged by Reynolds.

"I'd rather have my face smooshed up in vagina right about now anyways," Luke mumbled, Reynolds gently running his hand through the man's fluffy hair still. To Teddy's horror, Luke stared at him now, "You ever gone down on a lady before, Ted?"

"No," Teddy said far too quickly, catching Dad's eye for a brief second. Dad smirked and tipped his bottle of beer back and took a hearty gulp. But it wasn't dad's eyes he was fearful of; it was Taylor's.

"He said that fast," Reynolds observed.

"Who was she?" Luke pressed, "Come on, Tedster. You're hanging with the boys tonight. Tell us a sexy story."

Teddy gulped and chewed on his piece of rabbit, "I've been with one woman. For real. Like, I've had blowjobs and things but I've only been with one girl completely."

"Was she hot?" Dad asked.

"Yeah-I mean no, she wasn't," Teddy winced, then saw Taylor glare.

"What was wrong with her?" he asked pointedly, stabbing a piece of rabbit with a knife and ramming it between his teeth aggressively.

"She wasn't hot; she was beautiful," Teddy shrugged, "Like the poet Robinson Jeffries says, ' _The greatest beauty is organic wholeness, the wholeness of life and things, the divine beauty of the universe_ '. That's what I saw in her. Wholeness."

There was silence from the other men at that and Teddy worried that he'd done something wrong or even said something he wasn't supposed to. Taylor knew that Teddy had slept with his daughter so he needed to remain respectful; but had that bullshit been too respectful? Did he just make himself seem like some sort of fag for being poetic? What the hell was he thinking 'sunrise personified'. What a fucking fruit cake. He should have made up a lie, told them he fucked her in the ass or something more manful; fuck Taylor and his feelings right now-

"He gets his poetic side from his mother," Dad said, winking at Teddy.

"Ted, you're gonna start writing out my birthday cards for Danni," Luke laughed then, "Geez man. That was deep. Where'd you learn poetry?"

"Mom and Gail used to talk a lot about it when I used to colour," Teddy explained, "Some of it just stuck."

"Well it was beautiful," Dad promised, Teddy seeing that Jason was nodding in agreement as though Teddy had passed a test of some sort.

"But…did you lick her _wholeness?_ " Luke smirked.

"I don't want to spoil the memory. It was my first time and she made it special," Teddy said, remembering with staggering clarity how Soph had felt, how she tasted, how she smelled. She'd been everything he'd ever dreamt about and more. They'd spent the night together and laughed between intervals of sex, trying to share Teddy's broken double bed comfortably.

"You're a better man than me then, Ted," Luke whistled, "Cause I'd rather go down on my wife than I would get a blowjob. Her pussy tastes so fucking good."

"Fuck off," Reynolds laughed, "I've had both organs in my mouth and I can assure you that pussy tastes amazing."

"No, I believe Sawyer," Dad agreed, handing Taylor his leftover rabbit which, of course, the big bear ate without hesitation, "It's the best."

"Second best if you're Taylor. Everyone knows about his foot fetish." Luke teased.

"Oh ha ha ha," Taylor grumbled with a roll of his eyes, giving Luke the finger, "Fuck off, Sawyer, before I ram my own fucking foot up your ass."

"Thought you weren't into ass play, big boy?" Luke challenged, ducking when a beer bottle was thrown in his direction which nearly wiped out poor Reynolds.

"Hey!" Reynolds snapped, "Fuck; that nearly whacked me, T."

"Stop taking the piss then," Jason snorted, shaking his head firmly, "This is why I miss Ryan being around; he stands up for me."

"Of course he does; he thinks you're his dad," Luke snapped, "Take a joke, bro."

Teddy looked at his dad and saw that he was finding the sudden change in tension hilarious. Teddy was about to comment on it himself when he heard a twig snap behind him.

Instantly, Jason, Reynolds, Luke and dad pulled guns out from under their jackets, aiming them in various directions, all joking and banter evaporating instantly.

"Teddy, stick with Jason," Luke ordered and Teddy did just as he was told, walking over to Jason where he received a small pistol like weapon.

This was it, Teddy realised, he was about to die.

He looked at Dad one last time, ready and prepared to fight for Teddy's safety alongside his security guards. They were no longer prioritising Dad's life either now; their first thought was to get both Teddy and Jason to safety so that they could live long enough to testify in court against Esposito.

Reynolds kicked out the miniature bonfire, leaving nothing but smouldering embers and burnt wood.

"T, I need you to run the minute I give the command," Luke insisted, "Reynolds and I can hold them off. You get Ted and Grey out of here."

"Understood," Jason whispered lowly.

Another twig.

A curse.

Footsteps.

"T?" Luke whispered, "Get ready to-"

"Hello?" their intruder called out, "Jason? Luke? You guys out there?"

"I'm sure I heard voices," another intruder mumbled, "And I smell camp fire too."

"We can go back to the lodge and wait for them," a third, more familiar voice to Teddy, announced.

Luke laughed, "Welch you son of a bitch we're all out here," he called, picking up an emergency torch and flashing it through the trees. Sure enough, Teddy spotted Welch and two other burly men on either side of him who looked worn and tired.

"Well what the fuck are you guys doing out here?" Welch demanded in his thick Bostonian accent, "We thought you had all been caught by those Esposito pricks and were a bunch of goners."

He walked over to Jason and embraced the bear like man, "Good to see you've not strangled Teddy," he mumbled.

"It's been tough," Jason joked, catching Teddy's eye as they both relived the memory of Jason physically prepared to strangle Teddy to death if it meant getting home to Gail sooner, "Where's this army you promised?"

"You're looking at it," Welch grumbled, waving towards his two men behind him, "We've got a lot of catching up to do. You guys finished playing brokeback mountain so we can head back to the lodge and have a little chat?"

.

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **Hidden in the bushes,**

 **Looking over the 'Secret Best Friends Lodge',**

 **Somewhere in British Columbia,**

.

Damen was cold and miserable as sin, hiding high up on a hill, overlooking the small wooden lodge which Target Jason Taylor had taken Target Theodore Raymond Grey to. They'd done well to evade them so far, but it had really only been a matter of time before Damen and his men knew where they'd scuttled away to.

'Eyes on targets," Damen whispered into his walkie talkie, watching as the entire gang made their way back to the lodge, using night vision binoculars to better see the party from his vantage point; a hill a mile away from them, hidden in foliage.

' _Are they all there_?' Slick replied.

'I can confirm, Taylor, Grey and Grey junior, Sawyer and Reynolds are all present, as is Welch and two unknown men," Damen confirmed, "I've not got a clear shot with the sniper; they're in the lodge now."

' _I told you not to engage. I want to kill Teddy myself_ ,' Slick snapped.

The kid was being driven by his rage which was dangerous; that's when mistakes were made. Slick wouldn't listen to anyone, however. He was a wanted man; the SPD wanted to have him arrested now that they'd enough time to organise an evidence filled court case. Teddy Grey and Jason Taylor were now the only two people who stood in the way of Slick and his freedom, and Slick trusted no one but himself to kill the witnesses.

Or maybe it was revenge which was driving him to kill Theodore Grey himself; Teddy Grey had caused the police to issue warrants for his arrest. His own father was deleting him from all the family accounts for fear he'd be found guilty and their assets explored by the authorities. It was a desperate time for Slick and killing Teddy himself would be reassurance to both himself and his father that he could continue to be a part of the family business.

"Understood, sir," Damen repeated and sat up once they group had entered the lodge. He began to pack up his sniper and his binoculars, trying to decide if it was worth Slick's rage if he were to just camp up here and take the first headshot he could to neutralise Teddy and Jason himself, without the drama which Slick so clearly craved to create.

' _We'll smoke them out tomorrow. Get back to the hotel and we'll finish talking tactics_ ," Slick announced and then the frequency went dead.

Damen rolled his eyes, grabbed his bags, and headed down this steep hill, towards his car and then back to the local village he and Slick's last remaining goons were occupying. He'd maybe be able to get a few hours sleep tonight if he was lucky, maybe manage to phone his girl and see how many more dogs she'd adopted in Damen's absence.

One thing was for certain just now, however, and that was that the coming dawn was going to bring a bloodbath down upon Theodore Grey and his friends and family.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/n Hey everyone! I know I said that this chapter would be the bloody one and it is nearly complete but I've had a few people asking for some characters not to be hurt/a heads up to potential death (if any). If you want to know before I post the bloody chapter then please drop me a pm on FF itself, or leave a review asking to know and I'll get back to you, or pop me a message on one of the face-book groups.**

 **As always, thank you to everyone who takes their time to read the nonsense I write and I hope you're all enjoy it so far. I'll be honest, I can't see the story lasting much longer (I'm hitting the wall with it a little) but I'm not going to rush it.**

 **So like a say, get in touch if you want a heads up to the future bloody chapter or even if you have a request on who you'd like not to die/get beat up.**

 **Someone asked for a little bit of Ana, Gail, Ryan and Pheebs so I thought I'd use this as a filler/a pause before the fight scene. Tried to make it lighthearted so I hope it's alright!**

 **.**

 **Chapter twenty-two**

The hospital was busy today, Ana thought. She spotted a few of the regular families of patients and asked them what was happening, learning that there had, apparently, been a horrific car crash between a car and a bike. That also explained why the taxi bringing herself and Phoebe from the hotel to the hospital had been late, Ana had realised.

Phoebe had gone with Stonehouse to visit Gail, bringing her a few letters and some gorgeous pink flowers they'd gotten from a nearby florist. Ana had opted for seeing Ryan first with the second CPO, Thompson, because Ana still felt as though she owed Ryan her husband's life. Had Ryan not spotted the sniper light and leapt into action Christian would have been shot in the head. For that reason, Ana would always be in Ryan's debt, irrespective if that was the job he was paid to do or not.

Ana was carrying a stack of comic books she'd picked out of a charity shop for a couple of bucks with Phoebe, knowing he'd probably appreciate the reading material if he wasn't getting out any time soon. Whether the geek had read them was another story, but Ana was sure he'd happily accept them regardless.

"Thompson, when was the last time you were able to call your girlfriend?" Ana asked the slender man, former RAF officer. Phoebe had been spending a lot of time with Stonehouse and Thompson and the men were a lot more forthcoming with information, unlike their usual bodyguards. Stonehouse was a semi-professional basketball player in his down time with a boyfriend who was in financing. Thompson was British, Welsh to be more specific, former RAF pilot.

"Ah she works in Hollywood, ma'am, so she's been really busy," Thompson smiled, Ana able to see his golden tooth sparkle, "After I left the Forces we moved to LA."

"What does she do?" Ana asked, loving to hear Thompson speak. He'd a thick Welsh accent which just didn't suit the tough persona he appeared to have.

"She's a writer," Thompson explained, "Mostly Sci-fi stuff. She makes more than me, I'll tell you that for nothing," he chuckled, "She'll maybe just be waking up right now."

"Go take an hour and catch up with her," Ana insisted, "You can call her out here if you want. I'll not be leaving Ryan straight away."

"Thanks, Ma'am," Thompson smiled, handing her the pile of comics for Ryan then getting the door, "Enjoy your visit."

"I will, Thompson. Thank you," she said as she walked in, the door closing behind her, "Hey Ryan," she announced, "I got you some-oh Geez! Sorry!"

Ryan blushed badly as Nora pulled his erection out of her month, his surprisingly average sized dick bobbing as he tried to pull the sheets over his naked bottom but he strained his bruising neck in the process. Ana could count the number of penises she'd seen in her lifetime to three; Christian's, Teddy's and Ray's when she'd had to help her poorly father out of his soiled clothes before he'd past away. Now she'd just gotten an eyeful of Ryan's which would not sit well with Christian if he ever found out.

If.

Ana had no intention of telling her man what had happened. Plus it wasn't anything on her husband's penis. It wasn't as big, though it wasn't has hairy as Christian's. Maybe Ana needed to remind her husband to trim a little, she thought. As Ryan shifted, Ana noticed something very shiny on the man's dick caught the gleam of the spotlights above him and shone like an earring would do. Did Ryan, virgin Jonathan Ryans, have a piercing on his penis?

 _His penis?!_

Nora wiped her mouth and chin then helped her man cover himself.

Oh dear.

Ana blushed.

Ryan blushed.

Nora blushed.

An awkward silence settled over them all.

"Whooooooops," Was all Ryan could say, pressing on his bandages as he did so to help him speak, "Sorry Ana. I should have put a hat on the door."

"No, don't be sorry," Ana insisted, smiling weakly at him. He always looked like such a young man, the Boy Scout smile assuring Ana that he wasn't mad for the interruption, "I didn't think you'd be up to _much_ yet. I just assumed you were still poorly."

"I am, to be fair. I probably shouldn't have been doing... _much_ ," Ryan laughed, looking at Nora who just smiled and stroked his freshly shaven chin, "The nurse would yell at me, right?"

"Right," Nora agreed, the pair looking so goddamned loved up that it made Ana excited in a maternal way; their little Ryan was in love. Not that he was little by any means; it was hard to remember that Ryan was a former US Army Ranger, one of the toughest men in Christian's security squad and absolutely the most intelligent. He just had such an All American teenage face still, the sort of face that would suit being an Abercrombie and Fitch model.

With Nora beside him now, he looked so much healthier. She'd shaved him, trimmed his hair a little, gotten him to try eating despite his being nervous about the hole in his neck and, apparently, his sexual appetite was also back too.

"I didn't realise you had your penis pierced," Ana said as she laid his comics on his bedside table, "That was probably the most shocking bit."

"Oh, that," Ryan laughed, back to being his usual friendly and honest self, "Yeah I do. I have a frenum ladder. Three bars," he explained, "I just assumed you knew after the incident at JFK."

"Incident?" Ana frowned, Nora laughing as she obviously recalled the story herself.

"Oh I'd only recently gotten them and we were in New York when something was wrong with the private jet so Jason, Mr Grey and I had to fly commercial," Ryan explained, "but when they ran the wand over my groin I kept beeping. I don't know if it was a new start or someone who was working but she wasn't happy when I said it was ' _just a piercing_ '. Then Mr Grey was getting mad and blaming the machines and really being grumpy about not moving fast enough for his liking. He started shouting and Jason had to intervene then we ended up getting put in a holding cell till Mr Grey calmed down and I had to drop trews and show them. All of them. Jason then threw up his cheese roll in said cell. Thank God Nora didn't have that reaction when she saw it, huh?" Ryan grinned brightly, looking at his long-term girlfriend. The pair so needed to get married, Ana would fight Gail for mother-of-the-groom spot since Ryan was a care kid with a similar experience to her own husband.

"No, I didn't vomit like Jason did," Nora chuckled and looked at Ana with a playful smile that lit up her chubby face, "I just wanted to try it out!"

"I just never thought of you ever getting one Ryan," Ana explained, "I mean no offence or anything. It's just you're very..."

"Autistic?" Ryan laughed, knowing how it made Ana squirm. If her husband knew the level of banter she had with the security men, Ana was sure they'd all be killed off, "I'm just joking. It all started with Luke getting his nipple done and so I got mine done to see what it was like," he unbuttoned his hospital shirt and slid it off his shoulders, letting Ana see all the individual modifications he'd had done.

She knew Ryan trained in the family gym. Jason had told Christian that if he wanted men who were powerful and could do their job right then he had to have a state of the art exercise system available 24/7 for them, including a firing range. Christian, of course, had that done and converted the basement into a gym with weights and cardio machines as well as giving the staff access to the family pool, although for _Phoebe'_ s benefit (she was sure that it was actually for Ana's) the men would need to wear swim vests to cover their naked chests. As for the firing range, Jason had organised the old barn on the Estate to be upgraded into a series of long narrow brick halls where they could hang posters for shot practice. Little did Christian know that Ana was a frequent visitor to the firing range with Luke and Reynolds.

Ryan used the gym religiously, probably because Nora lived in Tokyo for the time being so the pair were doing the long-distance thing. Since he didn't have a wife or girlfriend to go home to and Luke had moved out of the bachelor pad they shared to do the picket fence thing with Danni, Ryan tended to stay more and more with the Taylors and worked out constantly, starting at four am some mornings. His grit and determination had awarded him a body which rivalled that of their familiar Marine bear; Ryan was buff. He'd a solid ten pack, and muscles in his arms which Ana hadn't realised men could achieve.

Getting to examine Ryan's body now, Ana could see all the body modifications he'd had and she was honestly shocked. Half his body was covered in a series of red, black and grey tattoos of skulls, tanks, helicopters and rifles which started from the centre of his rib cage all the way left and down his arm. The other half had a black and white pokemon and Mario sleeve which looked as though he needed to have it coloured. Both his nipples were pierced, one hoop and one bar and Ana realised he also had his belly button pierced with an aggressive looking hunk of metal.

"Holy shit, Ryan," Ana laughed hard, "You've got your belly button pierced too? I didn't think men could get those done!"

"Reynolds dared me when we were in Thailand doing business meeting," Ryan laughed, "Then I had my Army Ranger Tattoo finished, then my chest piece sleeve adjoining it with the tanks like when I was in Afghan, then I just wanted to get my other piercing and now I'm getting a sleeve with all my gamer stuff."

"Basically he has too much money and nothing to do while I'm in Tokyo," Nora chuckled, stroking his cheek again, "No more piercings."

"I promise…but I do want to get my balls done," Ryan grinned.

"No!" Nora laughed, Ana choking a little; she could imagine Christian's reaction to anyone putting a piercing gun next to his package, "Honestly, Luke's got you addicted."

"I know," Ryan laughed, "Which is weird considering he doesn't have any tattoos."

"Doesn't he?" Ana asked and then realised that Ryan was right. She'd seen her CPO shirtless dozens of times; when it was a roasting hot day and Christian was at work, Luke had a habit of sunbathing topless on his breaks. But now that Ana thought about it, her arrogant friend had no tattoos that she could recall.

"No. He was discouraged from getting anything when he was in the SEALs Teams in case he was captured and they identified him as an American soldier, or even as a SEAL. Danni has a SEAL tattoo on his behalf though; a skeleton frog with the Navy SEAL trident in its hand," Ryan said knowingly, nodding his head as he rebuttoned his shirt, "Jason's got the Marine insignia; the Eagle, Globe and Anchor; on his forearm and he also has a picture of Mickey dogging Minnie Mouse on his ass that he got a few months after boot camp. He's been having it lasered off though because Gail hates it. Actually Gail's got a flower on her hip, her first husband's birth flower I think," Ryan continued to ramble, his memory knowing no limits. He just seemed to be able to rattle off any manner of fact which he'd encountered in his life which astounded the Greys and the security team continuously, "In fact, funny story, when Gail first told Jason she'd a tattoo on her hip he said, and I quote, 'Something to aim at later then,'," Ryan concluded, making a jack-off sign with his hand.

Ana laughed and so did Nora; Ryan just didn't know when to not say certain things, part of his poorer socialisation skills. It the military he hadn't had much of a voice, in the security team he'd come out of his shell but required Christian or Jason to tell him when to shut up.

"Reynolds is afraid of needles; he passed out when I told him to get a tattoo in Thailand too."

"Considering you've a healing hole in your throat, I'd say you were talking your way to recovery," Nora smiled, pushing his floppy brown hair from off his brow, "I'm going to go get some coffee then find one of your doctors and see what they're saying today."

"Okay, Gorgeous," Ryan called, holding the bandage to his throat every time he spoke. As Nora left, the bodyguard watched with a whimsical expression, it made Ana long for her own partner in crime, missing Christian to the point that she was nauseous. He'd promised he'd keep safe and find their son, but she was struggling not to fret over their safety.

"Oh, Ryan! I got this letter for you in an envelope from Welch. Two letters actually. One's from Taylor I'm sure but I don't recognise the other handwriting," Ana explained, pulling the white letters from her parka pocket, "I've not read them, honestly. They just came in one big brown envelope."

Ryan unfolded the first letter and sighed, "It is from Jason, you're right," he said, "Could you read it, Mrs Grey? I can't talk without holding down on my bandage."

"Sure," Ana smiled, clearing her throat as she looked at Jason Taylor's chicken scratch writing, written in capital letters because even when it came to literacy, Jason felt the need to be an alpha male.

" _Kid, everything is on track to end the way I want it to but in case something happens to me between now and court, I want you to know that it's been an honour getting to know you and getting to work with you. If we'd ever had a son I would like to think you'd have been him, I know Gail sees you in that light as well. Which is why I need to ask you to keep my wife safe for me. If something goes wrong, if I don't make it through the next few days alive for whatever reason, you have to tend to Gail. It's all I'll ever ask of you.  
Stay strong, Son  
JT._"

Ryan smiled softly and Ana found herself wiping her eyes as she realised what these letters were. It hurt her stomach because she knew, in the envelope, that she'd a letter from Christian. It was hard to keep herself strong. She knew Christian wouldn't leave America without Teddy, he just couldn't do it. Ana had to get Phoebe to safety which was the only reason she'd been able to leave Christian and Teddy.

"Who's the second from?" Ryan asked curiously, looking choked up at Jason's letter.

"I don't really recognise the writing," Ana admitted, unfolding it and skimming her eyes over the tiny little note, "Oh my god, it's from Teddy."

She hadn't recognised her own son's handwriting.

Tears were flowing down her cheeks now as she took in a deep shuddering breath. Ryan leant over in his bed and placed his hand on her knee and gave it a comforting squeeze, recognising from her tears that she was sad.

"I didn't recognise his handwriting," Ana told him, shaking her head, "I thought it was Reynolds. I have a letter from Teddy too," she sobbed, "Ryan, he can't die. He's my little boy. I never apologised to him for not helping him get over Stephen's death. I can't lose my baby."

"Mrs Grey," Ryan said, sitting up quickly and pulling her off her seat and against his chest, "Ana, it's going to be okay. Christian and Taylor and Luke and Reynolds and Welch wont let anything happen to him. I know them, I know that it will all work out in the end. Teddy and Jason will testify and we'll all be safe, the bad guy will get put behind bars. The Esposito family will be brought down and Teddy's going to live. He'll come home to you. I swear it." Ryan said firmly, stroking Ana's hair as the emotions of the last few days being away from her son and husband and friends finally broke and she wept like a baby.

"He's my baby," Ana croaked, "He's my baby and we have so much left unsaid. I need him to know I love him. That I always loved him. That I wish I had been strong enough and helped him grieve, that I'd been an adult-"

"Stephen's death killed us all, Mrs Grey," Ryan reminded her, pulling her away from his chest now and sitting her beside him so that he could wipe her eyes and nose with one of his tissues, "Jason was on pills and therapy for months. Gail too. And I spoke to someone. You weren't alone; even we adults were traumatised. Mr Grey helped Teddy, Phoebe, Dr Flynn, Dr Grey, I was there, Luke and Reynolds too. We were all there together. Teddy just didn't know how to communicate with us. I should know; I don't know how to communicate either," he tried to joke, trying to calm her down, "Come on. Read his letter," he nodded, handing it back to her.

Ana nodded, clearing her nose with another tissue before taking a deep, shuddering breath.

 _'To Ryan,  
I'm sorry for calling you an autistic retard. When I come home maybe we can play playstation like old times if its not too late to be friends again.  
Teddy'_

Short but sweet, Ana thought, looking up at Ryan and seeing his face crumple. Since Teddy was three, Ryan had been Teddy's CPO and 'bestfriend', taking him from Kindergarten to high school. When Teddy had called Ryan such a cruel name, it had broken the youngest CPO and cut him so deeply that he'd wanted to terminate his contract with the Greys. Jason had fought him for days and convinced him to stay, Reynold becoming Teddy's CPO which had led to more slanderous terms –' _faggot stalking me_ ' being the favourite. Thank god Reynolds found Ted's ignorance funny.

Nora came in just then with a doctor behind her, "What's going on?" she asked worriedly, seeing them both crying.

"Jason and Teddy sent us letters," Ana choked, wiping her eyes, as she stood up from Ryan's bed and handed them to Nora to read over, "I'll go and check on Gail and Phoebe," she explained, shocked when Nora wrapped her arms tightly around Ana.

Her warm embrace made it hard not to cry again.

"They're going to be okay," Nora said firmly, "Let me hear you say it."

"They're going to be okay," Ana echoed weakly.

"We have to have faith in them and think positively," Nora insisted, letting Ana go, "I checked in on Gail and Phoebe; Gail's more awake today I think. She's got a sore head but she's feeling better," Nora added, her eyes watering now, "Phoebe's knitting with her."

"She's knitting?" Ana chuckled, shaking her head, "She just had a craniotomy five days ago and she's already knitting?"

"She says she's sick of Jason moaning about being cold so she's knitting him a sweater," Nora explained, "And Phoebe says she's learning so she can make socks for Mr Grey."

"Socks," Ana echoed and smiled, "I've got a couple letters for them too so I better go."

"Ryan's wanting me to smuggle him in a pizza tonight," Nora said lowly as the doctor checked over Ryan, "Would you and Phoebe like a pizza too?"

"That sounds wonderful actually," Ana chuckled, wiping her eyes as she turned to the corridor and headed along to see Gail and her youngest baby.

.

 **A/n;**

 **Next chapter I'll have Ana's letters from Christian and Teddy as well as Gail's. Like I said, this chapter was gonna be part of the main bloodbath-y one and I thought it would be best to give people who read this story the opportunity to prepare themselves; not everyone's like me and loves reading gore and fighting.**

 **Peace out ya'll!**

 **D x**


	23. Chapter 23

A/N; sorry for the delay; Family strife. I'll get in touch with those who asked to know roughly who's going to make it to the HEA-ish!

Sorry again!

.

 **Chapter Twenty-three.**

 **.**

 **01:30,**

 **Secret Best Friends Lodge',**

 **Somewhere in British Columbia,**

 **Canada,**

 **.**

"I was expecting more of an army, Welch." Jason admitted with an angry frown once they entered the lodge.

"I'll get you some dinner," Reynolds said, looking at Welch and his two companions before disappearing through to the kitchen to cook the remaining rabbit and beans.

"Please, we've not eaten," one of the men, the stockiest with a California surf's up twang called up, shoulder to shoulder with Luke on the couch.

Shaking his head at Welch, Jason watched as the man sat down on the already crowded sofa, pushing his way in until Luke was perched on the arm of the chair before placing his mud-clad boots up onto the coffee table.

The coffee table which had been owned by Mary.

The coffee table Jason remembered learning to read and write on with Calvin and his sister and their personal tutor.

The coffee table where Mary would give Jason a jam sandwich whenever he came round.

Jason must have been glaring something fierce because Christian Grey made a show and a dance about not being able to put his beer on the table. With an annoyed sigh, Welch dropped his feet and Christian cast a subtle nod towards Jason.

Bostonian Prick.

Welch helped himself to one of the beers Luke had bought when he and Taylor had nipped into town the other day and then smiled apologetically.

"You've gotta understand, Jay, that this sort of work is a black dot on my workers names," Welch reminded him, "Chasing Somalian pirates, taking on private assassinations and fighting terrorists...that's all one thing. This…this is completely different."

"How is this different?" Christian asked, sat by the fireplace now and watching Welch closely. He never really had much to do with the man, it was usually for Jason or Luke to communicate with him, which was perhaps not a bad thing. Welch's mannerisms often reminded Jason of Ben Affleck's character in Good Will Hunting, Chuckie Sullivan. He was chunkier since he'd left the SEALs teams and took on a more office based role in the security world, but he still had a stance of authority. He'd that balls-a-swinging walk that came with an almost over inflated confidence in himself, twinned with the South Boston accent and permanently squint nose. His confidence in himself was irritating but it was absolutely earned; Welch was infamous in the Spec War community and he'd made a powerful name for himself in the civilian security industry. His personal achievements were perhaps the only thing which had stopped Welch meeting Jason's fist in the past.

"Surely this can't be as dangerous as half the jobs you and your operatives already do?" Christian pressed, shaking his head.

"Mr Grey, I've had to be completely honest with the men and women I employ. This isn't a paid assignment, it's also not international which a lot of them don't like taking; pissing in your own backyard sort of thing," Welch said, that Boston accent as thick as ever. Sometimes Jason wondered if Welch played the accent up but Jason couldn't really comment as he did the same with his own Texas twang whenever he felt the need to assert his heritage.

Welch continued, "I also had to tell them about what happened to the Sawyers; I couldn't promise them that their own families would be safe from a similar fate," he added and Jason saw Sawyer growing very tense and still. Welch looked directly at Jason next, "Would you risk Gail and Sophie's lives for the Greys if you had a choice? If I called you up, said I needed a few men to help upstate, would you risk your family for strangers?"

Jason stood firm for a moment, thanking god that Sophie was in Cambodia and Gail was somewhere in England. It was a load of his mind knowing they were free of the Esposito jurisdiction. Reluctantly, Jason found himself nodding. If he had the choice to help Welch protect a family in a similar situation to the Greys right now, he wouldn't help. The Esposito family lived in Seattle, getting on their bad side would hold serious ramifications to everyone Jason had ever loved.

"So you have me, and these two chaps," Welch continued, waving a hand back at the two men who'd decided to brave the risk to their families and who were squished on the sofa on either side of their boss. "This is Jackson and Callum."

Jackson, the taller and leaner of the two men, stood up from the sofa and stepped forward when addressed, extending his hand towards Jason. When he spoke, Jason could hear a very stereotypical London cockney accent which explained to Jason why he'd offered to do Welch this favour; he wasn't a local. Heck, he might not even live in America, in which case his family should be safe from the fallout if the Esposito family managed to identify him between now and Slick being prosecuted.

"Hugo Jackson. I was a pilot for the Royal Airforce. Flew Tornados." Jackson greeted and shook Jason's hand with a reasonably firm grip, an easy going smile on his face.

"Jason Taylor," Jason nodded, "Marine Corps."

"Oh I know you," Jackson grinned, "Welch talks about you all the time."

Jason felt his cheeks blush, catching Welch, the bitch, smiling widely. "Well, um, this is Christian and Teddy Grey. Luke Sawyer's on the sofa arm and Reynolds is the man rustling up some food."

"The bald bloke?" Jackson double checked.

"Yup," Luke nodded, staring up at Jackson and asking the question which Jason had been thinking, "You live close, Jackson?"

"Naaaaah, my wife and cats are all in London," Jackson smiled to Luke, "I just finished a job in Canada about four hours ago so I thought I'd give you all a hand before heading home for my mother-in-law's birthday; so really if I get shot it wouldn't be a bad thing, you know what I mean?"

He laughed and Jason caught Christian's eye; the man had an incredibly dark sense of humour but Christian Grey didn't seem to appreciate joking about being shot. Perhaps it was because he'd nearly lost his life to a sniper, a sniper which almost killed Ryan.

"We appreciate it," Christian said and moved from the fireplace to be stood beside Jason, shaking Jackson's hand too, "You'll get paid for your time. I promise. When I get back to my Head Office I'll have finance pay you a million dollars for this favour to show my appreciation."

"Naaah, honestly don't worry about it; I just want free from the In-laws," Jackson laughed, waving Christian Grey's offer of money away, much to the shock of Grey himself, "Mind if I use the can? Ate a dodgy meal on the road down."

"It's down the hall, to the left," Luke directed, watching as Jackson excused himself to the can to take a shit. At least he felt at home.

Jason looked at the shorter man again, Callum. He was smaller than Jackson, in fact he was the smallest in the room, but it was clear that he was more muscular than half the room, Jason and Luke perhaps the only two who out ranked him in terms of arm gains.

"Callum Garret. Most people just call me Cal. Or Ugly," Callum smiled, missing several teeth from his mouth, "Former SEAL."

"Thank fuck; good to have another operative that knows what he's doing," Luke chimed up, typical SEAL.

When Jason had first become friends with Luke he'd been introduced to a few of Sawyer's team mates but hadn't really felt as connected to them as Luke obviously had. He'd met Welch too who'd been in Luke's Team before leaving to form his own security business, a business which found Jason his job with the Greys, but ultimately Jason struggled to form the same sort of emotional connections to people like Luke so easily did. Every time Luke met and worked with a fellow SEAL he seemed to instantly decide that they would be his best friend for life and that sort of mentality irked Jason like mad.

"You were in SEAL team one, yeah?" Callum asked Luke as he stood to shake Christian's hand, "Welch says he knew ya."

"Yeah man that was me," Luke grinned and then waved his arm around everyone in the cabin, "I thought I was going to have to carry this whole team on my back alone," he laughed and then stood too, embracing Callum tightly with a warmth which made Jason feel instantly jealous; Luke was his best friend. Although Jason would never blame his childhood on how he'd turned out as a man, he could become incredibly territorial over 'his' people, mainly Gail and Sawyer.

Jason rolled his eyes and looked back at Welch, about to comment when suddenly Teddy stood and walked over to Callum, Jackson too when he came out of the bathroom. The young man had been incredibly quiet since they'd come in from the campfire, having been incredibly frightened when he'd thought that the Esposito men had found them.

"Thank you for even just offering to help us," Teddy said firmly to the Brit and SEAL, holding his hand out as strongly as he could, given the near heart attack he was only just recovering from.

Jackson took it with a joyful smile, "Don't worry, Bud," he said before looking up at the plate of rabbit and baked beans with butter rolls which Reynolds brought through for them.

.

.

 **Meanwhile….**

 **09:30**

 **London Bridge Hospital,**

 **London,**

 **England,**

.

Dressed in woollen pyjamas and brandishing knitting needles, Gail looked amazing. Ana was nearly moved to tears as she witnessed how well their dear friend was recovering from her operation. She was sitting up today which was testimony to how well she was feeling. Yesterday she had been utterly exhausted, but then Ana had to remind herself that Gail had had brain surgery four days ago and tiredness was just one of the symptoms Gail was told to expect.

"Hey, Ana," Gail called, looking up from her knitting, "How is Ryan?"

Bless Gail, worried about her little boy Ryan. There was no denying that Gail saw Ryan as her son, the two having formed an incredibly tight parental relationship. Ryan had been very honest with Jason when he'd applied to work for Jason's security team, having given Jason his entire life story. He was a twin, lost his mom to addiction, grew up in care and became mute, had numerous foster moms and dads who couldn't deal with his and his brother's behaviour, joined the US Rangers, left after his service was completed, diagnosed with autism a year later, applied to work with Jason. The Taylors had very much become Ryan's parents, everyone knew so. Jason was patient with Ryan and taught him things the army hadn't, Gail was motherly and warm towards him and always stuck up for Ryan against her husband.

"He's actually asking for you," Ana smiled, squeezing Phoebe's shoulder. Her daughter was holding the wool for Gail, being taught how to knit, "He's talking now and able to eat more substantial food. In fact, I accidently walked in on him getting a blow job from Nora," she giggled, then laughed when Phoebe shoved her.

"Mooooom," Phoebe blushed, "That's disgusting."

"Oh calm down," Ana laughed, "Your father and I did not raised prudes," she said then looked at Gail. For the operation the little woman had needed to have a large section of her head shaved. This morning, Gail had had the nurse shave the rest of her hair off so that it would grow together as one, "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Gail lied, smiling away as though her operation hadn't drained her, "I'm just using my time wisely to make Jason a jumper to shut him up in winter; he complains all the time about being cold."

"How are you getting on with that?" Ana asked, the doctors having explained that Gail might not have full use of her motor skills after the op.

"My hands are fine," Gail said slowly, looking down her bed, "My legs however aren't so great. I can move them but... I think I'm going to have to look into physiotherapy, see if I can get my balance right," she admitted, "But until then, I've got my hands. Phoebe's learning how to knit."

Ana laughed, looking at her headstrong daughter, amazed she was even attempting to knit. Despite this horrific experience, Phoebe seemed adamant that she wanted to pursue a career in the Navy. She wouldn't admit it to Ana, but Ana knew Christian knew and she also knew that Phoebe wasn't training for a 'charity marathon' whenever she worked out with the security men, because Ana was yet to actually see a sponsor form for this supposed run.

The reality was that, as much as Ana was afraid for her daughter to go into the military, having her son and husband chased by a violent gang intent on killing them had pretty much fried Ana's nerves. Nothing seemed as scary as their current situation.

It was almost funny to Ana just how determined Phoebe was to enter an environment so heavily regimented whilst Teddy continued to be such a free spirit.

Phoebe was her father's daughter. A logically minded realist who was at her best in a controlled environment.

Theodore was his mother's son. A poetically untamed spirit who preferred fantasy and creativity to reality.

There was a path for both of them, Ana was sure, and had Teddy not had to endure the loss of Stephen she was sure her little boy would have found his way sooner and it would have probably been a less dangerous path.

During his childhood, Teddy had seen six different counsellors, two holistic therapists, a minister, a Rabbi, an atheist and a median. They'd tried to get him to open up, tried to get him the best support money could buy him and, for a short time, their efforts to get Teddy down a good path had worked. Until High School started and puberty hit Teddy like a tsunami wave of hormones and aggression.

It was like they'd completely lost their son then. He didn't want to go to the baseball with his father and uncle any more, he didn't want to help his mom in the garden, he didn't even want to sit and have dinner with his family. He spent most of his free time trying to get around the security and drinking. Heavily.

Grace had explained how much Teddy's behaviour as a young adult reminded her of Christian's which was when Ana and Christian had really gotten scared and begged and pleaded for Ted to speak to someone, anyone, even if it wasn't them. They understood that teens needed independence and space from their parents but they had always endeavoured to offer him the olive branch; set him a place at the table, offer him to pick movies, take him on driving lessons. It just didn't ever feel like enough and the guilt of failing her son, mixed with Ana's own unstable mental health over Stephen's horrific death, had made for a very toxic living situation.

Teddy had struck her once in a fit of rage when Ana had called him out on his horrific English grades. At first, she'd been angry that he wasn't doing the coursework and hiding notes from his teachers but then she'd offered to help him try and at least get a C. Teddy had snapped and shoved her hard when she'd tried to reach out and squeeze his shoulder as a sign of comfort.

Luke had walked in that very second to witness the attack and had went ballistic. Christian paid Luke to protect Ana and that meant from anyone, including her towering son. He shouted furiously and shoved Teddy back and away from Ana.

' _You don't understand, you stupid bitch'_

' _You think I care about English? About school?'_

' _What's the point of any of this'_

' _I'll just fail. I don't care'_

' _You and dad need to fuck off my back'_

' _What's the point in anything anymore?'_

Luke had restrained him to his bedroom and Ryan had had to put a cold press on Ana's arm from where she'd whacked it against the counter. Thank god Christian hadn't witnessed that or Teddy would have been evicted, Ana had no doubt in her mind. But Teddy had calmed down, grunted an apology then fucked off to a bar that was serving him, despite being under-aged. Ana demanded Luke not tell Christian, although she knew he'd told Jason. It was resolved as far as Ana was concerned but it still hurt her to think that her son had hated her so much.

"You'll be up on your feet in no time," Phoebe said, breaking Ana away from her memories of her off the rails teen, "The minute you're back in the kitchen at home, you'll be straight into baking."

Gail laughed and nodded, "Probably; I have so many people to pick up after. Who'll iron everyone's shirts? The last time Mr Grey tried to do his own laundry he burnt a hole through his good pinstripe shirt."

Ana smiled at her daughter and then back at Gail, "I received some letters from the men…" she said and cleared her throat, opening the brown envelope and pulling out the letters addressed to Gail, Phoebe and Ana's own.

Gail frowned and so did Phoebe, both looking up at Ana with confused expressions.

"Is dad, Ted and Tay okay?" Phoebe asked worriedly, panic in her eyes.

"I think these are…goodbye letters," Ana explained carefully, "In case something happens."

The thought that something were to happen to her boys and her friends made Ana's throat tighten and she saw Gail tense at the prospect.

"But there's no news?" Gail asked, looking at the bodyguard by the door, "They're all still alive and doing well?"

"Yes, ma'am," the guard called firmly.

"Then I'm not reading these," Gail concluded, handing her letters back; one from Jason and one from Teddy, "Because it's not goodbye yet. Jason's coming home. Teddy's coming home. It's not really goodbye and I'm not prepared to waste my energy right now on falseness."

Ana saw Gail lay back down in her bed carefully, as through the outburst made her feel exhausted. She looked over at Phoebe who was mulling over opening her letters from her father, her brother and her beloved Taylor.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Ana assured her, smiling softly, "It's okay."

"I don't think I can read them," Phoebe admitted, putting her letters down on the bed, "I don't want to imagine a goodbye from dad and Ted and Tay unless I have to."

"Well why don't we make a pact?" Ana suggested, "We wont open these letters unless we need to?"

"Agreed," Gail yawned, "And lets make a pact that when our men come home safe and sound we all go to Hawaii for a long vacation."

.

 **Later…**

 **02:46,**

 **Secret Best Friends Lodge',**

 **Somewhere in British Columbia,**

 **Canada,**

.

"You shaved your head?" Christian frowned as Teddy walked into the room he was now sharing with both Luke and Taylor. With Welch, Jackson and Callum staying now for the last night, the log cabin was packed to full capacity. Reynolds had volunteered to do the first watch shift and Jason or Luke would do the next in three hours so that their guests could get a good sleep for going home tomorrow.

The plan was to move off early. Jason and Luke had gotten rid of the car they'd driven up to the Lodge so they no longer had a vehicle. However, Welch had arrived in Callum's car and Jackson had come in his own truck which meant that everyone would fit into a car to drive back down to Seattle. Teddy and Jason were to acquaint themselves with their lawyer team before disappearing for a few more nights in which the police would hopefully have managed to track down Slick and have him put into custody.

Welch had said that the head of the Esposito family, Stefano Senior, was being bombarded by police in their search for his son which mean that the family was hurriedly cutting Slick off to limit what the police warrants could access. As much as Teddy was a pest and an arse, Christian didn't think he'd have the ability to ever cut him out of family life like Slick's father was doing to him. But, then again, GEH had never dabbled in the criminal activities which the Esposito family had done and so there was probably a lot more for the Esposito family to lose if one of them were to be arrested.

Teddy stripped out of his jeans and folded them neatly, placing them on the floor next to his t-shirt and shoes. It had been years since Christian had seen his son's hair so short; as parents to a young boy, they'd done the Bieber thing and then the skater boy pot head thing. Braids had come next for all of a week before Teddy slowly started having his hair cut shorter and shorter till he finally seemed happy with tussled waves much like Christian had had in his youth.

Only now, after 24/7-ing it with Taylor, Teddy had no hair whatsoever. His son had a buzzcut and looked impossibly older. It hurt Christian to see his baby boy looking so much like a man. His body was lean and muscular with a lot of hair sprawling across his chest, arms, tummy and legs, nothing like the pudgy puppy fat kid Christian used to snuggle up to on the sofa to watch Frozen with.

"Yeah, uh I did," Teddy coughed, running a hand over his skull as though he couldn't quite get used to the lack of hair he had himself, "I shaved Jason's for him too."

"Why?" Christian frowned, settling down on the cushions they'd laid out to act as a bed for their last night in the Lodge. Welch, Jackson and Callum were in the second room tonight, the one which had been meant for baby Sophie whilst Jason, Luke, Christian and Teddy were sleeping in Jason's room, Teddy and Christian on the floor and using the cushions from the sofa to make beds for themselves, "I mean, you suit your hair like that. It's very grown up. I just wondered why now, of all times, you'd want to make the change."

"Well I just thought, you know, Gail's going through a lot and, well hair is really important to people but especially women so I just, I dunno, wanted to show solidarity with her and with Taylor. By shaving off my own hair. Plus I guess it feels good to change things up a little, you know? Move on from being a kid." Teddy said and Christian realised that this was perhaps the most Teddy had ever said to him in one go for years. At least since he'd started pushing his son into therapy.

"I think Jason and Gail will really appreciate you doing that for them," Christian assured him, "I might just do the same."

"No you shouldn't; you're trying to break into politics, dad," Teddy reminded him as he sat down on his nest of cushions after opening the window, "A buzzcut isn't exactly a poster boy politician look."

"So? My career always comes second to my family. And the Taylors are very much my family," Christian pointed out, scratching his arm pit as he laid back.

"I know," Teddy sighed, smiling weakly, "Dad I'm sorry for causing all of this. If I could, I would go back in time and stay home with you and mom and Phoebe. I mean it. You have no idea how much I wish we were all playing monopoly or something lame. Having one of Jason's famous hot chocolates. You know the ones where he pretends he has a recipe but really he just puts whatever in them."

Christian smiled and nodded, "When we get home we'll do that. Me, you, mom and Pheebs. Gail and Taylor too if they want."

"I'd like that dad," Teddy said softly now, tears in his grey eyes which he was trying desperately hard to blink back, "I really would."

"Hey, don't be scared. We're together, we're safe. It's going to be fine," Christian assured his son, squeezing his shoulder firmly.

"I'm not scared dad. Well I am but that's...it's just I want to be home. I see how much Jason wants to be home with Gail and I can't believe I've pulled him away from his wife because I was such a fucking ass. I can't believe how much I want to be home so I can give mom a cuddle and tell her how sorry I am for blaming her for Stephen. I was only young, I didn't know how to think and I was so stubborn. We should have been a team and helped each other, I shouldn't have treated her like I did." Teddy said and wiped his eyes, tears pouring down his cheeks, "When I get home, I want to go back into therapy if you're willing to help me one last time."

"One last time?" Christian echoed and then shook his head, "You're our son. We'll do whatever we need to do. If you're ready, we're ready."

"Thanks dad. Thanks for coming to get me too," Teddy nodded, looking up when Taylor and Luke came through. Christian looked up too and laughed; Luke was wearing only a pair of off-white briefs, Taylor cleanly shaven and comfortable in his tartan flannel trousers. Both men looked exhausted and drained, much like how Christian felt himself.

Both men stopped short and stared at Teddy's skull, Luke gazing between Teddy and Jason before putting his hands up and laughing loudly, "Nope. I'm out. I'm not gonna," he mumbled, climbing into the small double bed to the side. He was sharing it was Taylor because apparently sharing a bed with a nearly naked Luke was more comfortable for Jason rather than with a fully clothed Reynolds.

Considering how homophobic Jason appeared to be, he climbed into bed with Luke without hesitation. It was the gayest thing ever, Christian was certain, raising an eyebrow which Teddy mimicked before he lay down on his own sofa pillow bed.

"You two better not bang," Teddy mumbled, pulling his blanket over his body, "Queer as fuck, like."

"We're not queer," Jason huffed, rolling over to his side.

"Exactly. We're just in love," Luke teased with an accompanying yawn as he wrapped an arm over Jason and actually spooned him, "In all seriousness, I don't sleep well without Danni."

"Really?" Christian asked, getting comfortable as well and looking up towards the bed.

"Too many nightmares," Luke admitted with a second yawn, "If I want a sound sleep I need to snuggle. Need to feel someone there."

Jason nodded so Christian wondered if he felt the same way, watching as the bigger man pulled Luke's arm tighter around his body so that he could play the smaller spoon in this weird man-nap. Christian understood the mentality though; his nightmares stopped the instant that Ana held him. It was amazing what a loved one's touch could do on an unconscious mind.

He watched as the two best friends hunkered down for the night, Christian doing the same and Teddy soon snoring beside Christian on the floor.

.

 **The next day…**

 **08:00,**

 **Secret Best Friends Lodge',**

 **Somewhere in British Columbia,**

 **Canada,**

.

Teddy watched from the front door as Dad, Jackson and Reynolds finished packing up all the stuff they'd need for keeping a low and safe profile in Seattle until the Esposito's were brought to justice. It was a cold morning, though Teddy wondered if he felt cold because of his lack of hair. After shaving Jason's for him, Teddy had had the big bear do the same for him which felt incredibly weird to have done. Teddy had barely recognised himself in the mirror once Jason had finished but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing; he wanted to forget the old Teddy and move forwards positively, take what he'd learned from this experience and use his new found knowledge for good.

When he got home, Teddy wanted to look into getting work as a labourer, maybe even see if he could learn a trade. The money wouldn't be great, not like what Dad was used to bringing in, but he'd give it a bash. After all, he'd end up doing something he'd enjoy; working with his hands and doing something creative and helpful. Maybe he could become a brick layer or an electrician? Maybe he could go to Cambodia with Sophie and build houses for the parents of the children which she taught English to?

The possibilities felt endless to Teddy in the current moment, the young man smiling as he watched his dad lifting a box of spare clothes into one of the cars.

In total, there were two cars sitting outside, Callum's BMW and Jackson's Ford truck. Everyone would have seat but which seat everyone got was a different story. Jason was being incredibly careful in deciding who went where. So far it was looking like Teddy would be with Luke, Welch and Callum whilst Jason went with Dad, Reynolds and Jackson so that in the case that one car was caught for whatever reason, the other witness would be alive to testify.

Plus Jason liked being with dad. Even though in this instance Jason's life was more valuable than Dad's, Jason still appeared to feel the need to act as dad's protector. Much like how Gail insisted on cooking at the weekends when she should be at home with her husband.

"Ready to get home, Ted?" Reynolds asked, wiping the sweat from his bald brow as he finished carrying a few more boxes of stuff into the cars, "Own bed, own bathroom?"

"I'm actually really nervous," Teddy admitted, looking into Reynolds brown, bland eyes, "But I'm eager to get it over with. So we can all go back to normal sooner. Jason misses Gail and I miss mom and Pheebs and Ryan."

"Normal is a subjective term...none of us lot are normal either, I would say," Reynolds chuckled, looking past dad and Jackson and taking in the vast rolling hills of evergreen conifer trees, "I always loved coming out to the wilderness when I was your age. My dad singlehandedly raised me and my four sisters so money was tight. We used to go wild camping for vacations. I hate it the wilderness now."

"Really?" Teddy laughed, looking around at the beautifully thick greenery around them, "I thought you security folks were all about harsh terrain and testing your limits."

"Not all of us," Reynolds laughed, Dad and Jackson now checking the ford's tires. Inside, Welch and Sawyer were trying to decide which hotels they should stop at in Seattle and which route would be the safest, Jason emptying the gun cupboard of all the weapons he'd stashed up here, "I rather like clubbing more."

"You go to nightclubs?" Teddy asked in disbelief, the bald guard the least likely man in Teddy's eyes to go to a club.

"Mostly gay bars if I'm honest," Reynolds shrugged, "Craig's friend Daps owns a drag club in the University district. Really good fun, great atmosphere."

"You like taking part?" Teddy asked curiously, watching now as Dad popped the engine hood. Apparently something was amiss with Jackson's car which both Dad and the former British pilot intended to try and fix.

"Nah not me personally. Craig does sometimes but only for fun. Some of the other guys have complete back stories for their lady identities," Reynolds shrugged, watching too from the lodge front door, "Luke and Ryan come with us sometimes."

"What?" Teddy frowned in disbelief, "But they're straight?"

"They're also hot and like getting drinks bought for them," Reynolds smirked, "If you're ever looking for a free night and an ego boost, head down to Daps place and say Reny sent you and you'll be worshipped for the night."

"I'll try and remember that," Teddy coughed, scratching his head, "What's going on with Jackson's car?"

"I don't know." Reynolds admitted, "I think it's just needing jump started," he explained as Dad pulled cables out from Callum's car and hooked the two vehicles up.

"We'll be fucked if we can't get the second car going," Teddy mumbled, watching as dad waved to Jackson to turn on the ignition.

 _"It's still not going!"_ Jackson yelled over the sound of the engines.

 _"Let me have a look!"_ Dad called, getting out of Callum's car and heading towards Jackson's truck.

 _"I'll try and turn the engine again,_ " Jackson said firmly, Teddy hearing him trying to start the truck again just as Dad approached him with a confused expression.

 _"What's that ticking noise?"_ Dad asked, looking at the Truck curiously, " _That ticking sound. It's-_ " he started but didn't finish as the truck erupted into a plume of black smoke and crimson red flames which engulfed him, the truck and Jackson who was behind the wheel at the time.

The magnitude of the explosion caused the second car to flip over, trees falling and the ground shaking.

"Dad?!" Teddy screamed as the momentum of the explosion knocked both himself and Reynolds back through into the lodge.


	24. Chapter 24

**IMPORTANT NOTE!**

 **I'm having phone troubles so my access to FF has been scatty. I have tried to get in touch with people who asked to know it Christian survived/didn't survive. For those I haven't been able to do so, at the very VERY VERY VERY bottom of this chapter I've done another Author's note to let people know what's happened, in the event I missed you.**

 **So again, at the very bottom of this chapter is a SPOILER. It was the best I could do until I get my phone fixed, I do most of my FF stuff on that. Hence why this chapter's also taken so long.**

 **Hope that's alright for people!**

 **Hope you enjoy, next half will arrive ASAP.**

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 **Chapter Twenty-four.**

 **.**

 **Secret Best Friends Lodge',**

 **Somewhere in British Columbia,**

 **Canada,**

.

"Ready to get home, Ted?" Reynolds asked, wiping the sweat from his bald brow as he finished carrying a few more boxes of stuff into the cars, "Own bed, own bathroom?"

"I'm actually really nervous," Teddy admitted, looking into Reynolds brown, bland eyes, "But I'm eager to get it over with. So we can all go back to normal sooner. Jason misses Gail and I miss mom and Pheebs and Ryan."

"Normal is a subjective term...none of us lot are normal either, I would say," Reynolds chuckled, looking past dad and Jackson and taking in the vast rolling hills of evergreen conifer trees, "I always loved coming out to the wilderness when I was your age. My dad singlehandedly raised me and my four sisters so money was tight. We used to go wild camping for vacations. I hate it the wilderness now."

"Really?" Teddy laughed, looking around at the beautifully thick greenery around them, "I thought you security folks were all about harsh terrain and testing your limits."

"Not all of us," Reynolds laughed, Dad and Jackson now checking the ford's tires. Inside, Welch and Sawyer were trying to decide which hotels they should stop at in Seattle and which route would be the safest, Jason emptying the gun cupboard of all the weapons he'd stashed up here, "I rather like clubbing more."

"You go to nightclubs?" Teddy asked in disbelief, the bald guard the least likely man in Teddy's eyes to go to a club.

"Mostly gay bars if I'm honest," Reynolds shrugged, "Craig's friend Daps owns a drag club in the University district. Really good fun, great atmosphere."

"You like taking part?" Teddy asked curiously, watching now as Dad popped the engine hood. Apparently something was amiss with Jackson's car which both Dad and the former British pilot intended to try and fix.

"Nah not me personally. Craig does sometimes but only for fun. Some of the other guys have complete back stories for their lady identities," Reynolds shrugged, watching too from the lodge front door, "Luke and Ryan come with us sometimes."

"What?" Teddy frowned in disbelief, "But they're straight?"

"They're also hot and like getting drinks bought for them," Reynolds smirked, "If you're ever looking for a free night and an ego boost, head down to Daps place and say Reny sent you and you'll be worshipped for the night."

"I'll try and remember that," Teddy coughed, scratching his head, "What's going on with Jackson's car?"

"I don't know." Reynolds admitted, "I think it's just needing jump started," he explained as Dad pulled cables out from Callum's car and hooked the two vehicles up.

"We'll be fucked if we can't get the second car going," Teddy mumbled, watching as dad waved to Jackson to turn on the ignition.

 _"It's still not going!"_ Jackson yelled over the sound of the engines.

 _"Let me have a look!"_ Dad called, getting out of Callum's car and heading towards Jackson's truck.

 _"I'll try and turn the engine again,_ " Jackson said firmly, Teddy hearing him trying to start the truck again just as Dad approached him with a confused expression.

 _"What's that ticking noise?"_ Dad asked, looking at the Truck curiously, " _That ticking sound. It's-_ " he started but didn't finish as the truck erupted into a plume of black smoke and crimson red flames which engulfed him, the truck and Jackson who was behind the wheel at the time.

The magnitude of the explosion caused the second car to flip over, trees falling and the ground shaking.

"Dad?!" Teddy screamed as the momentum of the explosion knocked both himself and Reynolds back through into the lodge.

.

.

"Dad?! Dad!"

Reynolds grabbed Teddy and rolled clear of the door as a torrent of bullets were fired into the house. The youngster was still screaming for his dad and fighting to be on his feet but Reynolds held firm and pinned him down, kicking the front door closed.

"Get down!" he shouted over Teddy's screaming, "Sniper!"

"Where?" Welch shouted back, crawling towards the windows to get the curtains.

"Out-" Reynolds started.

"Did you see a nuzzle flash?" Luke called hiding down by the kitchen counter with Jason behind him.

"I don't-"

"What was that explosion?" Jason snarled.

"Everyone shut the fuck up and let me answer," Reynolds yelled, Callum army crawling to get the other blinds so that the kitchen became a sort of safe haven from the sniper. When everyone shut up and just glared at Reynolds he answered, "Jackson's car went up with him and Grey."

"Christian?" Jason gasped, Reynolds able to see the man's heart stopping right there lying on the kitchen's ugly linoleum.

"Yeah," Reynolds nodded, still lying on top of Teddy.

"Dad's out there, we need to get him," Teddy begged, "He wasn't in the car; he might not be dead!"

"Grey knew the risk," Welch snapped, "We need to get Teddy and Jason outta here."

"We can't leave without Dad!" Teddy shouted desperately, looking directly at Jason and Luke now, "You have a duty to protect him. He could be dying out there and we're not helping him!"

"Welch has a point, Ted," Luke tried to say though Reynolds knew that both Jason and Sawyer were conflicted. Christian had made them swear to protect his son and that meant that they would need to abandon Christian to do so.

"I'm not leaving him," Teddy snapped.

"Then we'll tie you up and carry you," Callum shrugged, "The job is to get you and Taylor to safety to testify against those monsters. That's what Christian Grey asked us to do."

"Jason, please," Teddy begged now and Reynolds saw Jason freeze up, staring directly at Teddy, "Don't let him die. Please. Jason do something."

Reynolds knew in that moment that Jason was reliving the day Stephen had tragically died, the day that haunted the security staff. Reynolds hadn't been working that day but had felt sick to his stomach and sought out a therapist to help him organise his own thoughts. A child died in the house they all guarded to military standards, that sort of shit fucked anyone's brain but it had especially fucked with Ana, Jason, Ryan and Ted.

"Teddy, we have to leave," Luke tried again. The SEAL didn't want to leave Grey, no one did, but it was what Christian would want to happen; Teddy be protected, "They'll have us surrounded. We need to quickly go."

"No!" Teddy all but screamed again, "I'm not going. You can't," he looked back at Jason again, pleading with every breath he took, "Jason, do something."

"Do we know if he's dead?" Jason asked after a hesitating breath. He looked at Reynolds then, "Did you see him die?"

"I'd be lying if I said I saw what happened," Reynolds admitted.

"We're safe in this house," Jason growled as he crawled over to the door beside Teddy and Reynolds, "Over the years I've had it reinforced," he explained, "Since this was going to be mine and Gail's safehouse in the event that Grey did something that required me and the missus to hide. We have enough food and water and there's a backup generator; we're safe here."

Reynolds watched as he slowly sat up on his knees and carefully opened up the brass letterbox, holding his breath as he prepared for Jason to be struck by a bullet in the eye.

"Can you see anyone?" Luke asked, army crawling across the living room to get closer to Jason.

"I can see the car on fire and I see Jackson's body," Jason mumbled, "I see…shit I see someone over by the bushes."

"Is it Dad?" Teddy demanded to know quickly, still in Reynold's grasp on the floor. There was no way that he was going to let Teddy go, either. The boy was so stubborn and headstrong that the minute Reynolds loosened his hold, he'd be out the door to save his father only to get gunned down.

"No, he's not with us," Jason said, then dropped to his belly quickly as a bullet collided with the door. Thank god it was reinforced or Reynolds was sure that Jason would have gotten a bullet to the gut, "He's definitely not with us. Fuck, he has an AR-15."

"Just one?" Welch asked, still laying in the hallway by Callum, "Do you think we could take him and get to the other car?"

"Do you really want to jump in that car?" Luke snapped then, "Jackson's currently toast in the other one. We need to call in the police."

"The Canadian police," Welch repeated and shook his head in exasperation, "What'll they do? Beat them to death with their free fucking Health care?"

"Yes, the Canadian police," Luke snapped, "You never seen Due South, Welch?"

"That's a little stereotypical-"

"Stop arguing and help my dad!" Teddy shouted again, silencing the bickering. He turned to look back at Jason who was still lying flat on his stomach by the door, thinking. "Did you see my dad?"

"Yeah," Jason nodded, stroking his jaw, "I did. And I'm pretty sure I saw his arm move. Fuck."

"The dead twitch," Luke pointed out fairly.

"Not like that they don't," Jason groaned, rubbing his forehead as he looked at the ground.

"That's settled then. We can't leave him out there," Luke said reluctantly, "What's the plan?"

"The minute we step out there we're going to get gun-downed," Jason muttered.

Reynolds nodded, "Do you have a shield?" he asked, "Someone guns out, grabs Grey, we can offer fire; your armoury has more guns than the state of Texas."

"There's no shield," Jason observed.

Fuck, Reynolds thought, looking around the lodge for something they could use instead. Years as a top CIA operative had taught him how to think well out-with the box, seeing solutions where others could not. It was his documented resourcefulness which had gotten him the job with Christian Grey in the first place.

"The fridge door," Reynolds mumbled, "It's not going to be bullet proof but it's better than nothing. And if we return fire we'll maybe stand a chance of getting him."

"I'll do it then," Jason decided firmly, getting up onto his knees and crawling over to the kitchen to remove the fridge door. He pulled a toolbox out from under the sink, quickly working on the hinge.

"You can't," Teddy pointed out, "You're a witness, Taylor. You're needed. It needs to be someone else."

"I'll do it then," Luke offered instantly, typical SEAL. Reynolds had to roll his eyes as the man sat back up on his knees and grinned excitedly, completely disregarding the fact that he was still recovering from the injuries he'd sustained saving his wife and daughters.

Absolute knuckle head.

"You sure, Sawyer?" Jason asked worriedly, Reynolds able to see the reluctance in Jason's eyes to send Luke out there to be shot at. Reynolds knew that Taylor and Sawyer had a strong relationship, stronger than many marriages these days. Heck, when Reynolds first joined the Team he'd been convinced that the pair were fucking. It was in their body language, the way they held each other's gazes way more than a typical Breeders do.

"Sure, babe," Luke promised, winking at Jason.

Queer.

"Right," Jason growled, looking back at Teddy, Callum and Welch, "I need someone to crawl through to the armoury and load up; Luke's going to need cover. Keep down, keep tucked in against the wall, don't die. Teddy, I need you to try and get in touch with the Canadian police. Everyone else, we're covering Sawyer and Grey."

Gail had once said, over a second bottle of wine at Reynold and Craig's townhouse, that Luke and Jason had saved each other from suicide. Jason hid in Luke's penthouse to avoid his abusive wife and in return Jason offered Luke an understanding ear who knew from his own experiences just how shitty war could be. Luke had gotten Jason in touch with Welch when he'd left the Marines. Jason had gotten Luke in with the Greys when he could no longer handle what he'd done and seen in the SEALs.

Even now that they were both older and settled in married life, they needed each other. And Luke going out there was just typical bravado which pissed Reynolds off to no end. Maybe it was because he was in a relationship with a man and had learnt that maintaining a guarded façade was detrimental and dishonest. There had been many nights where Reynolds inability to talk about his feelings with Craig had nearly lead to them breaking up. It was a life lesson he'd learnt and applied to his work and social life and had been all that more mentally happy for it.

It was also why he despised this 'I'm a SEAL, I'm a Marine' bullshit that Luke and Jason did constantly. Ryan, a former US Ranger, wasn't so bad which was why Reynolds liked him the most. The other two were just assholes swinging their bollocks around. How Gail, an intellectual and cultured woman, marry that meathead was beyond Reynolds.

Jason finished removing the fridge door from the main body, going full caveman after he weakened the screws and yanking it off with his arms and feet.

"Right Luke, here," Jason called, crawling over to Luke again just as Callum appeared with an armful of weaponry.

"Cheers, Jay," Luke nodded, smiling at his best friend, "Promise me you'll tell that wife of yourss to give you a rim job we spoke about earlier."

"Fuck you Sawyer," Jason huffed, punching Luke's arm, "Get Grey before I shoot you."

Reynolds glared, "Sawyer can't go out there; he's still recovering. He'll never be fast enough to get Grey and bring him back."

"Fuck you, Reny, I'll be fine," Luke said indignantly.

"Will you fuck," Reynolds snapped, "You've not got the upper body strength right now. I'll go."

"James, I don't think that's a good idea," Jason started, "I don't know if you'll be able to get Grey back either."

"Why? Because I'm a not military?" Reynolds huffed, snatching the fridge door from Sawyer, "I'm former CIA, I'm more than able to do this." He looked back directly at Teddy and nodded at him, "I'll be able to get your dad back. I'm the fastest guy in this room."

"Not with a fridge door on your back," Luke chirped once more, shaking his head, "Reynolds, think about Craig and Mei. I'm serious, are you honestly going to be able to run out there, grab Grey and carry that shield?"

"Think about Danni and Isla and Eden," Reynolds snapped, "And I'll worry about my family," He looked at Jason then, "Open the windows, give me twenty seconds then open fire. I'll go in twenty two seconds and I'll be by Grey's side in thirty."

Jason was silent, antsy about sending anyone of them outside. As much has he was a misogynistic homophobic pig, he was a loyal leader and Reynolds knew that he would rather be the one stepping out into the firing line rather than either Luke or Reynolds. He very much lived by the policy that he should never expect anyone to do something which he wouldn't do himself.

"Okay," Jason eventually said and, fucking hell, he pulled Reynolds into an embrace.

With his hand stuck by his sides, Reynolds was encased in Jason's massive arms before being let go and urged forward. Callum handed Jason a hunting rifle, Luke being given an assault rifle whilst Welch and Callum himself took hold of equally threatening guns as well as, fucking hell, a grenade. Why the fuck did Jason have this much weaponry in his Safe House?

"On my mark, open the windows," Jason instructed, looking back at Teddy, "You count the seconds."

Reynolds took a deep breath as he hoisted the fridge on his arm and approached the door. Behind him, he heard Teddy counting evenly though his voice was croaking with emotion.

"One elephant…two elephant…"

He thought about his Craig in that moment, how they'd met by pure coincidence in Seattle so many years after highschool in Virginia. Ryenolds had been part of the jocks, a track runner and a would-be football player, being gay had been an alien concept and he'd partook in the witch hunt to bully homosexuals in highschool.

Leaving education and pursuing a successful career in the CIA had brought him further into a world of masculinity and homophobia. Back when he was in his prime there was no Pride Parade, no global recognition and acceptance. Which was why his mental health had suffered when he'd found himself unsatisfied with the women he'd fucked as well as his growing fascination with men. He'd been working for Christian Grey for a year and a half before he'd began to realise he was gay and on his first night to a gay bar he'd met Craig.

Craig he'd bullied for being a faggot.

Craig he'd helped others vandalise his things.

Craig who he'd watched his friends humiliate in the P.E hall.

It was no wonder Craig had thrown his drink in Reynolds face and ran out the bar. Shocked to see Craig and desperate for reassurance on his sexuality, Reynolds had ran after him and begged him for help, begged him to show him that being gay was no big deal. To teach him to be as confident in himself as Craig had been since he was ten.

"…ten elephant…eleven elephant…"

Craig had helped Reynolds to stabilize himself first as a friend before their relationship became intimate months later. Craig had went at Reynolds pace, slow and carefully, and they'd been together ever since, with a daughter they'd adopted shortly after their marriage.

"…fifteen elephants…sixteen elephants…"

What Reynolds would do to be with his husband and his daughter, snuggled together in front of the television and eating Craig's mother's homemade macaroni cheese.

"…nighteen elephant…"

"I love you both," Reynolds whispered softly and braced as the windows being opened by Luke and Jason were met by instant gunfire from the Esposito thugs hiding outside. Their bullets hit the reinforced exterior walls causing a 'bing' sound as they ricocheted which but Reynolds mind to rest somewhat; it meant that when Jason said that he'd turned this lodge into a fortress he meant it.

"…twenty elephant …"

Jason, Luke, Welch and Callum sat up on their knees, weapons resting on the windowsills as they fired back at Esposito's men. Reynolds saw Luke duck, and gasp, placing a hand on his ear and pulling it back to study a torrent of blood. Reynolds was about to shout 'medic' when he realised that the side of Luke's ear was gone and he was blooding.

"Lucky bastard!" Luke howled with a laugh.

"Grey's to the left, four yards from the burning car," Welch bellowed.

"Moving!" Reynolds announced, walking directly to the door and bending down, the fridge in front of his body. He put his hand on the doorknob and took a deep, shaking breath, shooing images of his home and family from his mind. There was no room in his mind to think about anything other than grabbing Grey.

"…twenty-two elephant."

Reynolds kicked the door open and darted with the fridge held in front of his body. Instantly he took fire, feeling the door bending and contorting with impact. Quickly, he ran to the left, Luke and Jason holding position momentarily as he crossed their line of fire. The ground was harder to run on than what Reynolds was used to and it was exceptionally difficult to run over the uneven terrain with this stupidly heavy shield on his back.

Behind him, Reynolds heard Luke shout 'Changing' as he reloaded, Jason upping the game. It was hard to tune their shouting out, even over the heavy firing Reynolds was receiving. Grey owed him a motherfucking Island for this. Fuck dangerpay or a fucking awesome pension; Reynolds wanted a tropical Island. And a Castle. And horses for Mei.

He could smell the burning car as he past it, knowing he was only a few yards from-

A bullet penetrated the fridge and buried itself into Reynolds' bicep. He fell, but kept hold of his shield, gasping as his flesh burnt around the bullet.

Fuck.

"Sniper!" Welch shouted. Reynolds groaned and lifted his shield a little higher, crawling closer to the burning car and Jackson's charcoaled remains to hide as he recovered for a few seconds and inspected his wound.

There was no exit hole which meant he was going to have to have someone back at the lodge extract it with a knife or a fork or something which would suck. Blood was pouring down his arm and dripping from his fingers which made his hand slippery and no longer able to hold the shield as effectively as Reynolds wanted.

Fucking shit bags, he wish he'd just let Luke go fetch Grey. The SEAL was a kinky fucker, after all, he got off on his war wounds. ' _Chick's dig 'em_ ' he'd once said, ' _They like suckin' the dick of a warrior.'_

God Reynolds hoped Jason had caught the muzzle flash of the sniper, wherever it was. He looked back towards the lodge and saw the boys were still providing him cover and Reynolds knew he'd have to move quickly.

Ryan was usually the best at spotting things like muzzle flashes, however, which was why he'd seen and jumped in front of the sniper in Escala which nearly killed Grey. He was hyper aware, part of the autism Reynolds was sure, and saw everything through different eyes which had become a crucial tool in the security team's inventory. Ryan had learnt 500 digits of Pi once, in an afternoon. Fucking astounding.

Shaking his head, Reynolds removed thoughts of Ryan out of his mind, praying to whoever was listening upstairs, that Jason had seen the muzzle flash. He gave the lodge a thumbs up and pulled himself back onto his feet, hurrying the last few yards to Grey's twitching body.

The fucker was alive.

His fucking chest was rising.

He was fucking alive.

The relief that washed over Reynolds was short lived as he saw the extent of the man's injuries, however. Jeeeesus, he'd need a skin graft.

"Christian!" Reynolds shouted, prodding the man's good side. Reynolds hand was bloody as he nudged Christian, leaving bloody smears on Christian's once white shirt, "Christian! I need you to wake up. Come on, Sir. It's Reynolds."

Christian's face was burnt badly; his left side of his face missing a layer of skin which started from his temple to his jaw. Reynolds had no idea if his eyesight was even intact, the burn consuming most of the side of his face including his eyebrow but not his actual eyesocket. Maybe that meant his eye was alright?

God Reynolds hoped so.

As delicately as he could, Reynolds put out his burning hair.

The man's face was perhaps not the worst burn on his body, however. His shirt had fused with his skin too, the cheap synthetic shit having burning into the flesh of Christian's left arm and side.

Reynolds hissed, nudging Grey a little more firmly now, "Christian, wake up!"

"Jason?" Christian huffed, slowly opening his beautiful, heavenly, completely alive Grey eyes, "Owww."

Reynolds quickly inspected his left eye waving a finger over it and watching as Grey's very confused pupils followed nearly perfectly.

His eye was intact. His eyebrow was gone, which Craig would be devastated about –' _Grey's eyebrows are on point, Reny baby'_ \- but he could still fucking see and that was the priority.

"It's Reynolds, sir," Reynolds explained as he checked the man's unburnt half for breaks and bleeding; everything was alright from what he could see, and Christian was moving which led Reynolds to believe that his spine would be alright for Reynolds to move him.

Not that he had a choice; he was being moved wither his spine worked or not.

"Reynolds?" Christian croaked, voice raw.

"Yes Sir, James Reynolds. You got some nasty burns Sir," Reynolds shouted over the bullets being fired around them, "Down your left side, you've been hurt quite badly but I need you to try and keep calm."

"What-AAAARGGHH!" Christian suddenly screamed out moving his head to the left and pressing his cheek into the ground, the pain of his burns finally registering and flooding his senses, "ARGH!"

Reynolds growled and grabbed Christian's waist, lifting him onto his shoulder in a fireman's lift. The weight on Reynolds' wounded arm was more than agony and he knew he wouldn't be able to hold the fridge door and Christian safely; something would slip with the way Reynold's muscles were cramping and spasming, working around the bullet lodged within them.

"Let me go!" Christian cried, "It hurts it hurts it hurts," he sobbed, disorientated and confused.

"Not yet, hold on," Reynolds growled, digging deep and standing with Christian over his shoulder, "Don't kick," he instructed, dropping the shield and sprinting as fast as his legs could manage back towards the lodge.

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Christian lives.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-five**

 **.**

 **.**

 **A day ago…**

 **Slick's Motel,**

 **Five miles from the Secret Best Friend Lodge,**

 **British Columbia,**

 **Canada,**

.  
"You've cut me off, dad. What the fuck?!" Slick snarled, pacing around his cheap as shit motel room. He pointed furiously at Damen, the big ugly bastard, and watched his goon creep out of their shared room. Damen wasn't welcome to witness Slick calling his father out on his bullshitty decisions. "I told you I was handling the situation!"

" _There is a warrant for your arrest, Stefano_ ," Dad said calmly, coldly, " _I told you to kill those witnesses. Are the witnesses dead?_ "

"No but-"

" _Then you are no son of mine_ ," Dad concluded, clapping his hand in the background. " _You have to understand, Junior. It's just business. You're attracting too much attention and I can't have the authorities snooping. Think of your mother and sisters, Stefano._ "

"Dad, I have Christian and Teddy Grey cornered, as well as Jason Taylor and those two fuckers who worked with Grey to get the Sawyer girls out. I will obliterate them before the day begins," Slick insisted, running his hand through his crop of hair and tugging it.

He couldn't believe his father was being so close minded. Didn't he see that Slick had the potential to take over the family business? He was an aspiring leader and he wanted to restore the Esposito name as one to be feared

. As his father aged, he'd become domestic and legal, siting his old age and family life as the reason he'd pulled back from heavy arms trafficking and drug distribution. It was pathetic to Slick, who'd been trying to get back to the family's drug dealing roots. All his father was interested in doing was seedy pornography distribution, strip clubs and high price escort prostitution.

Slick wanted to show the world he was more of a man than his father and become.

He wanted to bring back gun trades.

He was already working towards being Seattle's largest drug supplier.

He wanted to be feared.

" _You want to murder Christian Grey and his ontourage as well as Teddy and Taylor? I did not think I raised an idiot,_ " Father snapped.

"Look, Dad, I-"

" _No, you look here. You have fucked up, Slick. You've fucked up and I am not willing to help you anymore. I mean it,_ " Father shouted furiously, Slick able to feel the steam coming out the receiver phone. Dad had a temper, one which Slick often felt the brunt of. He was scary when he was angry, " _After the mess you made letting Grey walk into your club and steal your 'prisoners', you're lucky I don't give the police a tip off right now. Your mother was right; I should have pushed you off to military school. Maybe they'd have made a man of you._ "

Ouch.

"I am hours away from having Teddy and Taylor killed," Slick growled, "This will all be over soon."

" _Over? Are you insane? Are you some sort of fucking retard?_ " Father shouted in an exasperated tone, " _I can't believe you._ "

"You do not understand-"

" _No, Stefano, you don't understand. You're cornered. You're done. The law has a warrant for your arrest, your house and assets are frozen. You're a wanted criminal. Even if you kill Grey and Taylor you'll be imprisoned for having cocaine in your apartment_ ," Dad explained, " _And you're not getting a dime from me and your mother. We've bailed you out too many times in the past; there is no way in hell that we'll be getting involved. You are on your own._ "

"But if I kill Grey and Taylor I'll face a lighter sentence," Slick argued, "Which is what I'm going to do, Dad. I will get them before they can testify that it's me on the video."

" _You're not listening to me, Son_ ," Dad laughed cruelly, " _It's too late. It's done. You're fucked. Do whatever the fuck you like but I am not helping you. You got yourself into this mess so you can get yourself out. You're done._ "

"Are you disowning me?" Slick hissed, his mind reeling.

" _It's nothing personal, Stefano. It's just business. I need to protect your mom and sisters. I'm sure you'll understand,_ " Dad said so casually that it hurt Slick like a dagger to the back. Fury burned through his entire being and he had to fight to keep on his feet.

"You're dead to me," Slick hissed, "I don't need you. If the cops arrest me I'll tell them everything. I'll tell them what sort of a monster you were. I'll grass, you hear? I'll snitch on you if you do not help me right this very second."

" _You snitch and you'll never survive in prison. I'll have you butchered in a day,_ " Dad spat, " _Do not threaten me you worthless worm. You betray me and you will be sorry. Your men wont work for free. I'll call Damen-"_

"Damen is loyal to me. His men are loyal to me. They will get paid," Slick spat, "Goodbye, Cunt."

He hung up on his father then and there, throwing his phone on the bed in frustration. Tears of hatred poured from Slick's eyes as he stared at himself hard in the mirror.

Father would rue the day he disowned Slick. He'd make a name for himself, a ferocious reputation which would lead to an empire which would tower over the soft touch his father had become in his old age.

He'd have Damen gut his father alive.

"Sir? It's Hugh."

Someone knocked at the door. Slick wiped his eyes, snorted and focused on the job; butchering every motherfucker who stood in his way to greatness.

"Yes?" Slick shouted, turning his back as the door slowly opened.

"The bomb was rigged successfully to the bottom of the car," Hugh informed him.

"Smoothly?" Slick hissed.

"Yes, Sir. Rio crawled over and, given the thick foliage and the darkness, was unnoticed," Hugh explained confidently. His words were a relief; there was no way that Grey's entourage would fit in a single car. One explosion was all Slick would need anyway to startle them, and Slick would have has men ready to cut them down with a torrent of bullets.

It would be bloody, it would be dramatic but it would be sweet as fuck to watch them drown in their own blood.

"Piss off, Hugh. Tell Damen to get his arse in here," Slick growled and kicked off his slippers.

Their motel wasn't far from where Damen's tracker friend had followed Christian, Reynolds and Sawyer to the lodge. Damen had been watching them from up high and had reported that a further three bodies had joined Grey and Taylor, as well as Sawyer, Grey Senior and Reynolds. He'd come back to the motel for shut eye as Slick's orders demanded and left Rio to watch the lodge tonight.

It wasn't the worst place Slick had ever been but it was a far cry from the wealth and luxury he was used to. Still, it was a large room with it's own bathroom. Damen was crashing with Slick for security reasons with the warrant for Slick's arrest very much apparent. He doubted that the Seattle Police Department knew he was in Canada but he wasn't willing to chance it and neither was Damen.

"Sir," Hugh said and disappeared from Slick's sight, closing the door softly behind himself.

Within a couple of seconds, Damen's heavy boots stomped on their bedroom floor, the ugly bastard sighing in annoyance that he'd been shunted from his room so that Slick could speak to his father. But Slick was sure he'd get over it soon enough when Slick was running the wealthiest and most feared criminal gang in North America with Damen rolling in millions by Slick's side.

"How many men do we have, Damen?" Slick asked, turning to watch the big fucker sitting on his bed and kicking his shoes off. He was an impressive man to have on Slick's side; he'd done some fucking messed up shit for Slick in the past and his inventive ways to murder and assassinate often left Slick giddy with excitement. He'd had the disgraced Marine by his side since he was in school and there was never a day that Damen hadn't been in touch in some form or another.

"You. Me. Diego, Rio and Alec. Hugh, Floyd and Argie. Sam, Loco and Pete," Damen listed, "So eleven."

"Good. How many do they have?" Slick asked, using his fingers.

"Christian Grey, Theodore Grey, Jason Taylor, James Reynolds, Luke Sawyer, Jackson Smeaton, Callum Olsten and William Welch," Damen mumbled, "So Eight."

"Perfect." Slick grinned.

"Taylor is a former Marine. Sawyer, Olsten and Welch were with the SEALs. Smeaton was airforce."

Fuck.

"I want them dead, Damen. We have the element of surprise and we've got the motherfucking bazooka." Slick pointed out, "We can beat them. I want to kill Theodore myself though. I want to make him suffer."

.

.

 **Present day…**

 **Secret Best Friends Lodge',**

 **Somewhere in British Columbia,**

 **Canada,**

.

 _The fucker was alive._

 _His fucking chest was rising._

 _He was fucking alive._

 _The relief that washed over Reynolds was short lived as he saw the extent of the man's injuries, however. Jeeeesus, he'd need a skin graft._

 _"Christian!" Reynolds shouted, prodding the man's good side. Reynolds hand was bloody as he nudged Christian, leaving bloody smears on Christian's once white shirt, "Christian! I need you to wake up. Come on, Sir. It's Reynolds."_

 _Christian's face was burnt badly; his left side of his face missing a layer of skin which started from his temple to his jaw. Reynolds had no idea if his eyesight was even intact, the burn consuming most of the side of his face including his eyebrow but not his actual eyesocket. Maybe that meant his eye was alright?_

 _God Reynolds hoped so._

 _As delicately as he could, Reynolds put out his burning hair._

 _The man's face was perhaps not the worst burn on his body, however. His shirt had fused with his skin too, the cheap synthetic shit having burning into the flesh of Christian's left arm and side._

 _Reynolds hissed, nudging Grey a little more firmly now, "Christian, wake up!"_

 _"Jason?" Christian huffed, slowly opening his beautiful, heavenly, completely alive Grey eyes, "Owww."_

 _Reynolds quickly inspected his left eye waving a finger over it and watching as Grey's very confused pupils followed nearly perfectly._

 _His eye was intact. His eyebrow was gone, which Craig would be devastated about –'_ _Grey's eyebrows are on point, Reny baby'_ _\- but he could still fucking see and that was the priority._

 _"It's Reynolds, sir," Reynolds explained as he checked the man's unburnt half for breaks and bleeding; everything was alright from what he could see, and Christian was moving which led Reynolds to believe that his spine would be alright for Reynolds to move him._

 _Not that he had a choice; he was being moved wither his spine worked or not._

 _"Reynolds?" Christian croaked, voice raw._

 _"Yes Sir, James Reynolds. You got some nasty burns Sir," Reynolds shouted over the bullets being fired around them, "Down your left side, you've been hurt quite badly but I need you to try and keep calm."_

 _"What-AAAARGGHH!" Christian suddenly screamed out moving his head to the left and pressing his cheek into the ground, the pain of his burns finally registering and flooding his senses, "ARGH!"_

 _Reynolds growled and grabbed Christian's waist, lifting him onto his shoulder in a fireman's lift. The weight on Reynolds' wounded arm was more than agony and he knew he wouldn't be able to hold the fridge door and Christian safely; something would slip with the way Reynold's muscles were cramping and spasming, working around the bullet lodged within them._

 _"Let me go!" Christian cried, "It hurts it hurts it hurts," he sobbed, disorientated and confused._

 _"Not yet, hold on," Reynolds growled, digging deep and standing with Christian over his shoulder, "Don't kick," he instructed, dropping the shield and sprinting as fast as his legs could manage back towards the lodge._

.

.

Luke had kicked the door closed the minute Reynolds lunged through the threshold. He risked the windows and stood up to lock the reinforced steel door. Damn the thing was fucking fiddly, he growled lowly to himself as he fumbled with the chain first and then the ridiculous amount of deadbolts; Jason was on meticulous cunt.

Either side if him was gun fire. Jason was to his right, firing out the first window whilst Callum and Welch fired to the left.

With a thud, Reynolds had thrown Christian Grey to the floor, the man screaming out as his face his the carpet. Reynolds himself dropped to his knees as someone outside made a luck shot and fired a bullet through the open window which nearly hit the bald bastard.

"Stay down!" Welch ordered when Grey went to stand up in panic. He ignored the command so Welch turned and tackled him to the floor, pinning him on the back before a sniper could claim him. Grey wriggled and cried in pain, Welch pressing onto his burnt body to hold him still.

And he was in pain.

Fuck, it had been years since Luke had seen someone so burnt close up. Not since his days in the forces. Back in his SEAL days he'd seen many wounded and burnt soldiers who'd narrowly escaped landmines and IEDs with their lives. It was his experiences which lead him to believe that there could be no truly more agonising pain than burning. The screams burning people made were animalistic and haunting. At least with a bullet the initial burning pain was subdued in a day; the same was not true of second and third degree burns.

Heck, when Danni burnt her tit straightening her hair naked she'd had to go braless for days until the blister subdued. Luke Sawyer did not fear his death, he accepted that it would eventually happen specifically in his line of work so he'd learned to live life in the fast lane, but if he could pick his death, burning alive would be at the bottom of his desired ways out.

"Taylor!" Grey squealed in pain, panting loudly. Luke had to avert his eyes as he went to secure the bullet proof glass windows; it was hard to watch as the man squirmed, not sure what to do but call for Taylor in the hopes that his right hand man could make things better.

True to form, Taylor army crawled to the kitchen on his tummy at Marine speed, grabbing one of the bottles of water he'd had kept in the now door-less fridge before making his way to Grey. He poured the cool liquid straight to the burn sight, holding Christian's good side to steady him, "Grey, look at me, calm down."

"Dad it's okay," Teddy tried, holding his good arm with one hand, a second helping Taylor try and cut the rest of Grey's burnt shirt from his body using the Marine's switchblade, "It's okay, dad. It's going to be okay."

"It fucking hurts," Christian cried, then stuttered as he tried to steady his ragged breathing, "Fucking Hell, I'm on fire."

"I know," Jason said, freeing Christian's chest of the material. Welch crawled over with a first aid box and a damp towel, grabbing Christian's hand when he went to touch his burnt face, "Christian, stop touching your face," Jason insisted.

"It hurts so fucking bad, Taylor!" Christian hissed, shaking on the floor and crying out when Jason opened the first aid box and applied burn cream to his blistering face.

Across the room, Callum was using a knife to extract the bullet buried into Reynold's arm, the bald guy hissing in pain also, though he was nowhere near as anguished as Grey. He'd a belt between his teeth to stop him biting his tongue as Callum struggled to dig the thing out before ditching the knife completely in favour of using his fingers.

"Fucking SEAL prick," Reynolds gasped, glaring at Callum before adjusting the belt back between his lips.

"You just feel your face?" Welch asked Christian now, studying Grey's arm intently. Luke looked back over to Grey just then, studying him closely. His face was blistered and crimson red but it was his arm that was raw and white and destroyed with tufts of his shirt fused into the open wound. It was a medical emergency to everyone in the room; Luke hazarding a guess that the skin in his arm was fucked well past the dermis layer.

"Yes!" Christian gasped, "My face is molten!"

Luke grimaced and shared a look with Jason. If Grey couldn't feel his horror movie arm, there must be significant damage to his nerve endings. In terms of pain, that was perhaps a godsend but on the same merit it confirmed that this was absolutely a medical emergency for Christian and they desperately needed to evacuate him.

"The first aid box should have a shock blanket, Jason," Luke called over, jumping when someone outside tried shooting the window by Luke's head. The bullet bounced off the glass, but that didn't make it any less unnerving for him.

"He needs a doctor," Teddy insisted, staring at Jason hopefully again as the man opened the blanket and wrapped it around Grey's body, being sure not to cover his raw arm.

"Did you manage to call for help?" Jason asked the boy, handing him the wet towel to press on Grey's face to try and cool it down even just slightly. He was slightly calmer the minute he felt the coolness but Luke knew it would be short lived. He needed evacuated before he went into shock.

"I got through to the operator but I didn't have an address to give and you were busy then dad came in and I dropped the phone," Teddy admitted guiltily, looking down at his father worriedly, "I tried, I just, I didn't know it, I don't know, I tried but-"

"They can track your cell, don't worry," Jason said, squeezing his shoulder manfully before looking towards Reynolds, "How's your arm?"

"Perfect," the bald bastard mumbled sarcastically. He looked over at Luke when he caught him smirking, "You're welcome."

"I said I'd go myself," Luke reminded him and sat back from Christian and Teddy and Taylor. He crawled on his tummy back towards the window he'd just been perched by it with his AK rifle, "How many did you see?"

"I saw three confidently," Reynolds reported, laying down on his back once Callum had finished wrapping a bandage around his arm, "Possibly five but I'd be lying if I said that for sure."

"What's the next move?" Sawyer asked, looking back over at Jason next. He was their leader, after all, whether Welch was happy to relinquish control or not, "We need to get Grey to the hospital."

"This house is a fortress. It's all reinforced. Everything. We're safe as long as we stay inside. I say we wait for the emergency services to show up," Jason said, scratching his buzzcut, "They can't get us in here."

"Is there an escape route in case they do?" Callum asked.

"The attic," Jason said, pointing to the ceiling. The entire cottage was on one floor, only ever having been meant for the father and his daughter initially before becoming his Safehouse for emergencies such as this. There was an attic above them, Luke had had a nosey in it earlier to try and fix the electrics a few days ago. But he hadn't seen any sort of escape route when he'd been up there.

"There's a spot marked on the roof; it's a weak point. One good whack and it'll create a hole big enough to get out of," Jason explained, "We'd be on the roof but the drop to the back of the house is cushioned by the compost heap."

"You really did think of everything, huh?" Welch laughed, "Meticulous as always."

"Always have an escape route," Jason agreed, looking down when Christian groaned, "You're going to be okay, Sir. I promise. Unless they've got a bazooka, we're going to be safe in here."

"Get Teddy to safety," Christian chattered which worried Luke; if Grey went into shock they couldn't help him. He crawled over to Grey and laid down beside him to try and keep him a little warmer. Teddy was in bits, watching his father in agony.

Luke didn't feel any need to comfort the boy, not after how his own girls had had to suffer at the hands of Slick. He was anxious for Christian and desperately wanted him to live but it was hard for Luke to give much of a damn towards Teddy's feelings in the current moment.

"Taylor? What did you just say about a bazooka?" Welch called from the window. Sawyer's head snapped up and he spotted the man using a mirror's reflection to look out of the mirror.

 _Surely they didn't have…_

 _They couldn't…_

 _Not…_

 _No. Dear god, no._

"You're taking the piss," Jason snapped in disbelief, "They do not have a bazooka."

"We need to get into the attic," Welch said with urgency, "Now. Move!"

"What's going on? Can we stand?" Teddy frowned in confusion, looking up at Welch and then Reynolds as he approached Grey.

"Yup, stand. If we don't we're as good as dead," Welch said to the young Grey-let. Luke watched as Welch stocked up on his weaponry, Luke and Jason doing the same whilst Reynolds lifted Grey onto Callum's back. He shouted in agony and his grip was weak so Reynolds used his belt to loop Grey to Callum securely.

"Here," Jason shouted from down the hall, pulling down the drawstring to the loft, a set of stairs falling as the latch opened, "Sawyer, you first. X on the far side of the building. Provide fire."

"Aye," Luke nodded, letting his AK hang by it's strap as he scurried into the empty loft, able to run bent over to the far side of the building where he met with a large white 'X'. Using the butt of his rifle, he whacked the mark and felt the flimsy plastering crack. He gave it a second smash when Reynolds joined him. Then a third which saw sunlight filling the attic.

He cracked it a final time and was about to cheer when the entire house shook and a tremendous roar rattled through the walls. Luke froze and took a deep breath, expecting the house to crumple around him, a tremendous phobia of his. Only it didn't, and he was pulled away from his horrible memories by Reynolds laying a hand on his shoulder.

"You're okay, Sawyer," he shouted, Sawyer realising he couldn't really hear any more as residual ringing drowned his sense of hearing.

"Door is breached!" someone, Welch Sawyer thought, shouted from downstairs. Luke gazed over his shoulder and counted Reynolds, Teddy behind him and then Jason. Callum was just entering the loft with Grey on his shoulder but Welch didn't appear to be coming up with them.

"They're reloading!" Welch declared, firing his gun in the distance, "Move! I'll fire from down here!"

"We're good to go!" Luke shouted loudly back to everyone, taking a deep breath and pulling himself through the hole in the roof tiles. Instantly, he was met with a stream of bullets but he was able to take cover behind the slim chimney by doing an artful lunge and tumble.

Reynolds came out next, dropping to his belly beside Luke and firing his own gun with a marksmanship which Luke hadn't realised the man was capable of. In seconds, the Latino brandishing the bazooka was shot and wriggling around on the floor.

"Nice shot!" Luke grinned, catching sight of Teddy pulling himself out next, then Jason who then helped Callum and Christian, "What's the plan, chief?"

"I need to get Teddy out of here!" Jason shouted over the gunshots.

Luke and Reynolds exchanged a quick look before Sawyer stared back at Jason.

"We can hold them off," Luke said firmly, Reynolds shooting again then cursing and rolling sharply to the left as a bullet barely missed him. Callum nodded at Jason and unhooked Christian before making the short leap to the ground.

Typical SEAL, Luke laughed, watching as Callum lifted his weapon and began to advance on Esposito's men fearlessly by the ground rather than attack from up on the roof like Reynolds and Luke were. Welch joined him from downstairs, creeping out of the house through the blown apart 'reinforced Luke's ass' door. He gestured to Callum, ducking behind the wreckage of Jackson's burnt out car for shelter.

"Go, the three of you," Luke demanded, "We've got this. The authorities will be here soon, we'll be fine," he promised Jason, "Get moving. Head east; there's a town about 15k in that direction."

"I'll see you soon," Jason promised, staring directly into Luke's eyes with worry.

"Yeah, yeah. Get outta hear, babe. Go get that rimjob," Luke commanded, turning back to face the fight and letting Jason, Teddy and an unstable Grey get off the roof and run east in the direction opposite the gunfight.

Luke counted six Esposito Goons in total, including the one lying bleeding to death thanks to Reynolds, but he didn't rest on his laurels. Luke was positive none of those men were Slick himself and, perhaps more concerning, none of them were that ugly, sadistic disgraced Marine that followed him around; Damen DeMire; so they were still at large.

Luke gulped and thought about his best friend dragging both Greys to safety. Fuck, Luke hoped they didn't bump into that Damen cunt. The things Reynolds said that the man had done made Luke's skin crawl. There was killing someone, and then there was skinning people alive, the latter of which was apparently Damen's speciality.

"Changing!" Callum declared, Luke shaking his head and upping his shooting game as Callum sheltered behind a large fir tree to change rounds. Out of the corner of his eye, Luke spotted a seventh man approaching from the left, a hunting knife in hand.

Reynolds must have spotted him too because he suddenly shouted out, "Welch! Behind you!"

The knife wielding man darted, missing Reynolds bullets and knocking Welch's gun from his free hand. Welch struck out, whacking the man's throat in defence whilst carefully trying to keep the knife at bay.

Luke pulled his eyes away from Welch and looked back towards the goons, taking another shot and hitting another one. Competitively, he let Reynolds know they were now sitting at 1-1 each with a nudge.

As he went to shoot his second, Luke suddenly noticed that one man had pulled a pin out of a grenade.

"Reynolds," he growled, the goon winching his hand back before launching the grenade towards the roof, "James move!"


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-six**

 **.**

 _"Go, the three of you," Luke demanded, "We've got this. The authorities will be here soon, we'll be fine," he promised Jason, "Get moving. Head east; there's a town about 15k in that direction."_

 _"I'll see you soon," Jason promised, staring directly into Luke's eyes with worry._

 _"Yeah, yeah. Get outta hear, babe. Go get that rimjob," Luke commanded, turning back to face the fight and letting Jason, Teddy and an unstable Grey get off the roof and run east in the direction opposite the gunfight._

 _Luke counted six Esposito Goons in total, including the one lying bleeding to death thanks to Reynolds, but he didn't rest on his laurels. Luke was positive none of those men were Slick himself and, perhaps more concerning, none of them were that ugly, sadistic disgraced Marine that followed him around; Damen DeMiro; so they were still at large._

 _Luke gulped and thought about his best friend dragging both Greys to safety. Fuck, Luke hoped they didn't bump into that Damen cunt. The things Reynolds said that the man had done made Luke's skin crawl. There was killing someone, and then there was skinning people alive, the latter of which was apparently Damen's speciality._

 _"Changing!" Callum declared, Luke shaking his head and upping his shooting game as Callum sheltered behind a large fir tree to change rounds. Out of the corner of his eye, Luke spotted a seventh man approaching from the left, a hunting knife in hand._

 _Reynolds must have spotted him too because he suddenly shouted out, "Welch! Behind you!"_

 _The knife wielding man darted, missing Reynolds bullets and knocking Welch's gun from his free hand. Welch struck out, whacking the man's throat in defence whilst carefully trying to keep the knife at bay._

 _Luke pulled his eyes away from Welch and looked back towards the goons, taking another shot and hitting another one. Competitively, he let Reynolds know they were now sitting at 1-1 each with a nudge._

 _As he went to shoot his second, Luke suddenly noticed that one man had pulled a pin out of a grenade._

 _"Reynolds," he growled, the goon winching his hand back before launching the grenade towards the roof, "James move!"_

 **.**

 **Running for their lives,**

 **Secret Best Friends Lodge',**

 **Somewhere in British Columbia,**

 **Canada,**

.

Despite the deafening explosion behind them, Jason continued to run with Christian's arm hooked into his own, his AK-47 around his neck whilst Teddy hurried ahead of them. The kid was faster than Jason on a good day but with a wounded Christian Grey to drag with him, Jason's pace was even slower than normal and it was incredibly frustrating.

"What was that?!" Teddy shouted, looking back towards the lodge as the surrounding trees shuddered with the vibration of whatever the fuck caused that explosion.

A grenade.

It had to have been a grenade.

Fuck.

Jason shook his head in disgust, grabbing Christian tighter when he started to stumble a little on the uneven ground.

"It's not our problem, Ted," Jason said coldly, even though he knew full well that it was his friends who had been hit. He hoped Luke and Reynolds and Welch and even that Callum lad were okay but there was nothing he could do. Jason needed to get himself and Teddy to safety to testify against Slick for his murder in that god awful club. That was the mission.

They needed to run faster, Christian had to move faster.

"What if someone's hurt?" Teddy argued as he waited up ahead for Jason and his father.

"Then not getting you to safety will make their sacrifice a wasted one," Jason huffed, "Come on, keep moving East, Teddy."

"What if Sawyer's bleeding to death?" Teddy argued, glaring at Jason. It was a cheap shot to use his relationship with Sawyer but somethings were more important than social ties, both Luke and Jason knew the risk of their occupation and understood the importance of the mission, "You can't leave them!"

"I can, Teddy. Move," Jason snapped and all but shoved Teddy forward before tightening his arm around Christian's waist and picking up his own speed. "Keep your eyes forwards. We don't know who's ahead of us. We need to get your dad to safety."

"I'm slowing you both down," Christian strained, the skin of his face an ashen colour which contrasted angrily with the blistering red burn to his left check and forehead, "Leave me here."

"Shut up, dad," Teddy growled, falling back and grabbing the AK-47 from Jason so that Jason could better grip the agonised Christian, "We're going to get you to a hospital."

"Theodore," Christian snapped, "I'm slowing you both down. And if you die everything will have been for nought."

"Shut the fuck up, dad," Teddy repeated with more aggression as he continued to march ahead with the gun, "If I don't come home with you, mom will never forgive me. If she was ever going to forgive me that is."

"Both of you, shut up," Jason interrupted, halting and indicating for Teddy to do the same, "Someone's chasing us."

He heard the sound of heavy feet on the hard ground behind them and pulled Christian to the ground, his side arm in his hand and pointing it in the direction of the sound.

"Ted, if I say run, you run. Understood?" Jason whispered in a low hiss.

"Yes," Ted said quickly, raising the rifle up. He'd no idea how to use it but Jason had every hope that he'd at least know how to fire.

Jason grunted his response, staring towards the woods as the footsteps got quicker and closer. He didn't dare shout a warning, just continued to point his gun as their tail got nearer.

And nearer.

And near-

Welch broke through the clearing and Jason dropped his handgun instantly. In milliseconds he spun quickly and slapped Teddy's rifle muzzle to the side just as the youngster fired. Welch ducked to the left in the opposite direction, eyes wide and glaring at Teddy.

"Rule one of a warzone; don't shoot your own fuckin' guys, Ted!" Welch shouted in that thick Boston accent, pressing his hand into the side of his stomach. Jason noted instantly that he was bleeding pretty heavily and he was having some difficulty straightening himself up.

"I'm sorry!" Ted gasped, hands shaking as he lowered the gun. Jason was surprised he'd even fired like he had; there had been no hesitation and had Jason not had the reflexes of a cat he was certain that Welch would have had a bullet in the face.

The magnitude of what Ted had nearly done clearly hit him like a ton of bricks as he turned to his right and hurled up his breakfast.

Jason grimaced as the young man vomited, looking back to Welch, "Are you okay, Welch?"

"I've been stabbed," Welch grumbled, lifting his bloodied hand up to show Jason, "But I'm alright just now; Reynolds and Luke went down though. The bubba's threw a grenade at them on the roof. Reynolds went flying. I can't see where Luke went but he wasn't answering Callum or me," he said, that South Boston accent confident but strained; his injury must be causing him some serious grief.

"Where's the fucking Mounties?" Jason growled, shaking his head. They needed back up and they needed it now!

"They're here," Welch said, holding his bleeding side again, "They're here but they're under heavy fire too. Esposito's guys are trapped between them and Callum but they're not going down easy. They said they're calling for medics so I left Callum holding the lodge to come find you before you got too far ahead since Grey's not looking so hot."

Jason looked down at Grey who was lying on the ground, shivering with Jason's jacket draped over his naked chest, away from the weeping third degree burns on his arm. He was going into shock and needed medical aid desperately. So did Welch now. And Reynolds. And Luke…

"Thank god they're here," Teddy groaned in relief, looking at Jason now that he'd finished up-chucking on the soil, "We're going to be fine, right? They Mounties and the police will eventually take the Espositos down and you and me will make it to testify against Slick, right? Everyone will be fine!"

Jason grinned excitedly, letting himself believe they were going to be saved, that everything Teddy had just described would be exactly how their ordeal would end. The Mounties had arrived and more would follow and, eventually, they'd overpower Esposito's men. Medics would arrive and Christian would be rushed off to hospital. Everything would work out perfectly.

Jason allowed himself to believe they would survive…which was his first mistake.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a gunshot fired and Teddy let out a scream, blood erupting from the side of his head as his physical ear was blown off, pieces of cartilage covering Welch.

"Fuck!" he shouted, dropping down and instinctively pressing his hand to the side of his head, blood dripping over his fingers, "Someone shot off my fucking ear!"

Jason scooped up his side arm from the ground and turned, spotting Damen DeMiro holding a rifle and grinning manically down at them from his perch uphill. Welch pulled Teddy beside him, lifting his own glock and pointing it in the monster's direction.

"Get up, Ted," Welch snapped, "It's just a fuckin' ear."

Teddy pulled himself together long enough to realise they had been discovered by Damen DeMiro, "Fuck."

DeMiro didn't flinch, he didn't duck and hide. He just stared down at them with an expression which Jason found incredibly haunting. His eyes were narrow and cold; deadly with a toothy smirk spreading across his lower face as he watched Teddy trying to hold what pieces of ear he had left with one hand, the heavy AK-47 in the other.

It had been a long, long time since Jason had seen a man like DeMiro; a man who was ready for his death. Maybe the last time Jason had seen that sort of expression had been back in San Diego, when he'd intended to blow his own fucking brains out in the men's room? The look he'd given himself in that mirror was none too different to how Damen DeMiro was staring at them now. He was prepared to die, he lived by the sword and knew he'd eventually die by the sword, which made him a more dangerous adversary than they'd originally feared. Men like DeMiro were pitbulls; they didn't give up until they got what they wanted.

"That that Marine bodyguard?" Welch mumbled, DeMiro unmoving, full of confidence in his abilities to evade any bullet that went his way, "Fuck him; I'm done with this shit." Welch added and fired his glock at the creep's gut.

Damen rolled back away from the bullet with the reflexes of a cat, ducking behind a tree and disappearing completely from view like a ghost.

He had literally vanished in front of them.

Fuck.

It made Jason itchy as he, Welch and Ted scanned the area looking for the deadly man. They stood back to back in a circle with Christian Grey sat in the middle of them in a bad way. They needed to get him back to the Mounties, to where they would get medical aid.

It had been incredibly dangerous to make a run for it, particularly when Grey was in such a bad way with the third degree burns to his arm, but they couldn't have stayed back at the lodge, not when the Esposito goons had rocket launchers at their disposal and they didn't know if the authorities would arrive in time to save them all.

But they had and they needed to get Christian back.

"That's him," Jason mumbled, "That's Slick's right hand man."

"Fuckin' freak," Welch hissed, "Ted, how's the ear?"

"What ear?" Teddy groaned, leaning back against Jason more, "I feel sick."

"Don't think about it; think about getting out alive," Jason reminded him, searching for DeMiro, waiting for him to pop up like some fucked up Whack'a'mole, "Fuck where is he?"

"I can't see hi-Shit!" Ted shouted, firing that noisy rifle towards a group of branches. Jason and Welch didn't move, no matter how much they wanted to, needing to keep their own eyes focused on the area in front of them in case someone else jumped out their way and attacked.

Teddy must have hit someone, however, because Jason was sure he heard someone shout; "Fuck!" behind the branches where Ted had fired his load at. Was it DeMiro? Was it Slick? Was it some other Henchman that they didn't know about? He'd no idea, but what Jason did know was that they were dead if they didn't make it back to the Mounties and poor Callum holding the Esposito men back.

"I think I got him!" Ted declared triumphantly, the AK-47 lowering.

"Who'd you get?" Welch asked.

"I think it was DeMiro," Teddy admitted, "But it was hard to tell behind all that foliage."

"Go," Jason ordered suddenly, pointing his gun ahead again, "I can hold them off. Welch, get Teddy and Grey back to the Mounties. Give them back up."

"Jaso-" Christian started with a pained voice, but was cut off as an uninjured Damen materialised in front of them like a demonic ghost, firing directly at Jason.

"Go!" Jason ordered, rolling behind a tree, giving his friends cover-fire and allowing them to run back towards the lodge and the sound of gunshots, "Fucking go!"

"Come on, Teddy," Welch ordered, grabbing Christian as best he could with his wounded side and pulling him into a fireman's lift. Both men cursed, although Grey's was more muffled as his body became overcome with the shock of his injuries, "Come on, run, Ted!"

Jason didn't look back at his friends, firing directly at Damen to keep him at bay for the others. He was every bit the pitbull Jason thought him to be; fearlessly running towards Jason in a zigzag motion despite the bullets going his way. He ducked behind a tree before sending an onslaught of bullets at Jason, causing him to duck and curse.

"Give up!" Jason yelled over at Damen, deciding to try and convince him to turn himself in; even if he killed Jason and Teddy now, there was too much damage done. Too many people had already died. There was no way that the Esposito cunt could win and Jason hoped that he could appeal to Damen's sensible side, as a bodyguard himself, "Give up, hands in the air and I wont kill you."

"I'd like to see you try and kill me!" Damen shouted back, his voice incredibly deep and husky and hearable over the sound of his gun relentlessly firing back at Jason.

"Trust me you'll see," Jason mumbled to himself, ducking back behind his tree and reloading his gun before turning back again to face Damen.

Who'd disappeared again.

What the fuck?

Jason couldn't see him again, no idea where to shoot at. The man had dematerialised once again into thin air right in front of Jason and he'd no idea where the fucked he'd disappeared to.

Shit.

Jason scanned the area with his finger on the trigger, itching to fire but holding off so he could listen for sounds; Damen hadn't completely vanished so if he moved, Jason was sure he'd at least hear a branch snap or the crunch of leaves under the man's impressive weight.

Silence.

Jason was incredibly uneasy and was starting to worry that DeMiro had passed him by some miracle of stealth and was chasing down Ted and Welch and Christian. They'd never survive if that monster went after them, they were too wounded. As was Luke Sawyer. And James Reynolds. Jason felt sick at the thought that his friends had been hurt, his mind going to Gail instantly and imagining how the fuck he'd break the news to her. To Danni, Eden and Isla Sawyer. To Craig and Mei Reynolds.

Fuck, they better be sleeping on the job to not answer Welch's calls, Jason cursed, or he'd flay Damen and Slick alive-

Footsteps came from right behind him, at speed, and as Jason turned to shoot a hand grabbed his gun wrist and twisted it sharply while punching Jason's head powerfully. Damen grinned manically but it wasn't a smile that reached those brown, dead eyes. No, he looked positively evil as he continued to punch and twist Jason's wrist.

Jason dropped his gun as his wrist was nearly snapped clean off, pulling himself together and kicking Damen's gut to get space between them. He was freed, shaking out his sore wrist before charging and spearing Damen in the gut, pushing him up against and tree and punching his lower half. It felt unnatural to hook another man's junk but Jason took no prisoners and felt Damen tense and gulp, the goon slamming his fists on Jason's back and head relentlessly.

With another harsh punch to Damen's ballocks, Jason felt the man give in to rage and become more erratic and angry with his pounding on Jason's back. It hurt but it didn't hurt nearly as much as the ferocious knee kick Jason got to the face.

His nose snapped and he was sure he lost a couple of teeth as he staggered back in shock. It was Damen's turn to spear him now, kicking him in the gut which buckled Jason, a second kick hitting him directly in the skull. His vision clouded and Jason was left just coherent enough to thank God for giving him a thick rhino skull.

" _Give up_ ," Damen laughed nastily, mocking Jason's earlier words as he took a breather, " _hands in the air and I wont kill you._ "

Jason panted hard, trying to regain his sense of equilibrium as he stared back at the younger man.

"It would be a shame to kill a fellow Marine," Damen cooed, pulling a switchblade from his pocket and pointing it at Jason.

"Dishonourable discharge?" Jason asked, doubling over to try and catch his breath.

"You know the soldiers the lefties get their nuts in a twist about for pissing on locals and raping women?" Damen asked and Jason just nodded, "The big bosses swept the worst under the rug."

"Thought so," Jason laughed with a pant, looking back at Damen and smiling brightly, his mouth and nose bloody, "I saw your record."

"Did you?" Damen asked with excitement, "See anything you liked?"

"Melinda," Jason grinned, spitting blood as he watched Damen's face grow colder and angrier, "Works in the dog shelter? Been with her since you were chucked from the Marine Corps. What does she think you do when you're at work all day? She can't know what you really do, surely. What sort of women would stay with a rapist, drug dealing, kidnapping, torturing, murdering fiend."

Damen continued to stare at Jason in a manner which truly scared him…but he imagined Sawyer and how Sawyer would act in a situation like this. He would antagonise his adversary until they got sloppy and made mistakes, then he'd strike with his KA-BAR knife.

Jason had Luke's KA-BAR knife tucked into the back of his belt.

"She's a pretty girl too," Jason continued, watching Damen struggle to hold himself back, "Maybe when I have you arrested I'll go down there personally and tell her all the ugly little details you haven't told her? Maybe I'll shoot her in the fucking head to really make you sorry for fucking with me-"

That got him. Jason watched as Damen lunged recklessly with that switchblade, jumping back out of the way of his erratic swipes and parrying the knife with his hands and landing a few punches to Damen's torso.

"You fucking touch her and I'll go after everyone you love!" Damen threatened, "You ugly cunt!"

Jason grinned, grabbing Damen's blade wrist and pulling him towards Jason's body, slamming his forehead against Jason's elbow. He kicked Damen's stomach as powerfully as he could, using the years he and Grey had spent practicing kickboxing to his advantage as he felt Damen's ribs crack against his boot.

Damen went down on his back with a sharp gasp, trying to roll onto his feet to keep fighting.

Jason kicked his knife away before pulling out his own and standing on Damen's upper body; further crunching those broken ribs, "You have one last chance to give up," Jason spat, "Or I'll kill you."

"You'll not kill me," Damen laughed, a horrible gasping pained noise.

"Try me," Jason spat, pulling his knife back and preparing to plunge when a bullet suddenly slammed him in the upper arm. He physically felt the bullet shatter his bone in a blood curdling explosion, dropping the knife and shouting out in absolute agony.

Damen grabbed the knife and kicked Jason from his body, someone pulling the dishonoured marine to his feet.

"Took you long enough," Damen huffed and Jason opened tear soaked eyes to see Slick.

The brat was everything Jason had assumed he would be up close; runtish, with a slim frame and narrowed expression. He'd some eyebrows on him, dark in complexion no doubt because of his Mediterranean heritage.

"Why the fuck are the police here?" Slick demanded, pointing his gun at Damen.

"How the fuck should I know! My orders were to get Taylor and Grey. Not to fuck about with the cannon fodder with them," Damen growled.

"And where the fuck is Theodore Grey, anyway?" Slick spat, waving that gun around the forest angrily, "I don't see him, Damen. That prick nearly shot me with his gun when he fired at those bushes. Where the fuck is he now?"

"He ran back towards the Mounties with that Welch guy and his dad," Damen argued.

"Then go after him, you fucking idiot," Slick snipped, looking down at Jason directly then and pointing his gun at him. Not that Jason could do anything; his arm hurt too much, his body rattled and beaten. He needed a moment to recalibrate himself before he could fight again.

"You want me to run towards the authorities?" Damen shouted in disbelief, "And what'll I say when they catch me? Because they will catch me. That prick Taylor's broken my ribcage. 'Oh, sorry, my prick of a boss's son wanted me to kill Teddy Grey. Pass him over, please'," Damen mocked which saw Slick pull his gun from Jason and point it directly at Damen's cranium.

"Stop waving that gun like you're some badass motherfucker," Damen spat, digging into his pockets for a thin wire. Jason gulped and tried to wriggle away, Slick kicking him in the arm which saw him buckle and cry out in pain.

"Let me kill this one and we can get Grey another time," Damen insisted, bending down behind Jason's head and wrapping the wire around his throat. Instinctively, Jason tried to get his fingers between the wire and his skin to attempt to slacken it but it was no use; his arm had no strength in it to counteract Damen's tight pulling.

"I hate watching people choke," Slick gagged, turning his back on Damen and the struggling Jason.

He tried to kick out his legs and roll up on his back to hit Damen but the more he moved, the tighter the wire felt. He couldn't breathe, his lungs were burning as he gasped for a breath he couldn't get. His energy was escaping him and his mind was growing hazy and bleary.

He was going to die, Jason was certain, as his vision began to blacken, the desperation to breathe leaving him as the need to close his eyes and sleep overcame him.

.

a/n; let me know your thoughts so far! Next chapter soon


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-seven**

 **.**

 _Damen went down on his back with a sharp gasp, trying to roll onto his feet to keep fighting._

 _Jason kicked his knife away before pulling out his own and standing on Damen's upper body; further crunching those broken ribs, "You have one last chance to give up," Jason spat, "Or I'll kill you."_

" _You'll not kill me," Damen laughed, a horrible gasping pained noise._

" _Try me," Jason spat, pulling his knife back and preparing to plunge when a bullet suddenly slammed him in the upper arm. He physically felt the bullet shatter his bone in a blood curdling explosion, dropping the knife and shouting out in absolute agony._

 _Damen grabbed the knife and kicked Jason from his body, someone pulling the dishonoured marine to his feet._

" _Took you long enough," Damen huffed and Jason opened tear soaked eyes to see Slick._

 _The brat was everything Jason had assumed he would be up close; runtish, with a slim frame and narrowed expression. He'd some eyebrows on him, dark in complexion no doubt because of his Mediterranean heritage._

" _Why the fuck are the police here?" Slick demanded, pointing his gun at Damen._

" _How the fuck should I know! My orders were to get Taylor and Grey. Not to fuck about with the cannon fodder with them," Damen growled._

" _And where the fuck is Theodore Grey, anyway?" Slick spat, waving that gun around the forest angrily, "I don't see him, Damen. That prick nearly shot me with his gun when he fired at those bushes. Where the fuck is he now?"_

" _He ran back towards the Mounties with that Welch guy and his dad," Damen argued._

" _Then go after him, you fucking idiot," Slick snipped, looking down at Jason directly then and pointing his gun at him. Not that Jason could do anything; his arm hurt too much, his body rattled and beaten. He needed a moment to recalibrate himself before he could fight again._

" _You want me to run towards the authorities?" Damen shouted in disbelief, "And what'll I say when they catch me? Because they will catch me. That prick Taylor's broken my ribcage. 'Oh, sorry, my prick of a boss's son wanted me to kill Teddy Grey. Pass him over, please'," Damen mocked which saw Slick pull his gun from Jason and point it directly at Damen's cranium._

" _Stop waving that gun like you're some badass motherfucker," Damen spat, digging into his pockets for a thin wire. Jason gulped and tried to wriggle away, Slick kicking him in the arm which saw him buckle and cry out in pain._

" _Let me kill this one and we can get Grey another time," Damen insisted, bending down behind Jason's head and wrapping the wire around his throat. Instinctively, Jason tried to get his fingers between the wire and his skin to attempt to slacken it but it was no use; his arm had no strength in it to counteract Damen's tight pulling._

" _I hate watching people choke," Slick gagged, turning his back on Damen and the struggling Jason._

 _He tried to kick out his legs and roll up on his back to hit Damen but the more he moved, the tighter the wire felt. He couldn't breathe, his lungs were burning as he gasped for a breath he couldn't get. His energy was escaping him and his mind was growing hazy and bleary._

 _He was going to die, Jason was certain, as his vision began to blacken, the desperation to breathe leaving him as the need to close his eyes and sleep overcame him._

.

Teddy had no ear.

He had no fucking ear.

One month ago he'd had two ears and now he only had one.

Fucking great.

It was hard to look ahead and walk forward with the burning and the bleeding and the ringing he was experiencing. The pain was so much that he felt a sharp stinging by his frontal lobe, trying his best to soldier back towards the lodge as fast as he and Welch could with dad on Welch's back and Teddy holding the AK-47. He stumbled over a branch and gasped, clawing his way back up to his feet and carrying on as fast as he could, readjusting his hold on the gun.

Really he should have taken Dad, Teddy felt, but Welch was adamant because he didn't have the 'movability' to use the gun due to his stab wound. Teddy, apparently, did and was able to keep more alert.

"We need to hurry. We got to get the Mounties to save Jason," Teddy yelled over the ringing he was still experiencing in his ear.

In his hole.

What the fuck did he call it now that he'd half an earlobe left?!

"Jason's a big boy; he'll see to himself. We need to get Medical Attention first and foremost!" Welch assured with a confidence that Teddy wished he held. He looked forwards at Welch now and saw that the man's jeans were now soaked with his blood from the knife wound in the side of his body. Still, with little complaint, he was carrying dad on his back. The effort to keep walking was definitely challenging for Welch but at least he was able to go in a straight line and wasn't disorientated.

Dad had said very little on Welch's back, the pain of his burns so excruciating that he was struggling to keep conscious. The last thing he'd said before passing out was 'shoes', though Teddy had no idea what he was even talking about or if he was dreaming.

Teddy felt like he was flying and he kept tripping up over his own feet, the sickness going hand in hand with the dizziness as he tried to keep up and follow Welch and Dad. He remembered when he had labyrinthitis as a teen and had to admit the sensation was pretty similar to what he was experiencing now, though he knew the dizziness would hopefully subside and just leave the ringing pain.

Hopefully.

If he lived long enough to receive medical care that was.

"Not far now," Welch called back, readjusting his hold on dad which saw him groaning and the jarring movement. They were walking slower than Teddy had walked with Jason but that was probably because they'd been fleeing for their lives when they were trying to get away from the lodge, now they were trying to get help and it just seemed like the longest path ever to Teddy.

"Hang in there, dad," Teddy shouted, unsure of the volume of his voice, "We'll get you help."

 _ **BANG.**_

Teddy stopped suddenly, his head snapping back in the direction he, Welch and Dad had just come from. In the direction they'd left Jason. That was unmistakably a gunshot but it was the incredibly loud, horrible, soul destroying scream that followed which had Teddy freeze and stop moving.

His stomach dropped and his feet felt too heavy to use.

Jason…

"Come on, Teddy," Welch strained, a few yards ahead already and sweating badly, "I need you to keep your eyes peeled while I carry your dad," he snapped, stopping to look back at him, "I need you moving, Ted."

Teddy stared at Welch and his unconscious father, then heard another painful yell from behind them.

"I can't leave Jason," Teddy admitted, "Go ahead, I hear the mounties. You're nearly at the lodge," he lied; Teddy couldn't hear anything but the painful residual ringing and the sound of Jason's anguished screaming.

Although, worryingly, he couldn't even here Jason crying out anymore. Did that mean Teddy was too late? Oh dear god don't let Jason be dead. Teddy would never be able to return home if Jason died. Dad would never forgive him, mom would never look him in the eye. Gail…god please, don't be dead.

"Theodore," Welch argued angrily, his voice getting louder as though increasing the volume would get Teddy to listen to him, "What if _we_ die? I can't defend us. I need you with that gun."

He was trying to guilt Teddy into going with him, Teddy was sure of it. Welch could defend dad and himself if need be, he was incredibly skilled and a former Navy SEAL. Teddy was absolutely certain that he was just trying to blackmail Teddy to keep him from running back into the arms of that psychopath, Damen. Welch knew that using Dad would make Teddy consider not returning to help Jason and it very almost did. Dad was so weak and needed help urgently. They all did.

But Jason would return for Teddy; that, he was sure. Jason would return to save him or die trying. So what the Hell was Teddy doing listening to Welch try to blackmail him?

Yes, Welch was wounded and Dad was wounded but so were Luke and Reynolds, probably if they weren't already dead. The lodge was ahead and the authorities were already there, swarming the Esposito goons. Dad and Welch were going to be safe as long as they got back there quickly.

Taylor was not safe and didn't have time to wait for help; he needed it now.

"You're safe," Teddy snapped at Welch, having already made up his mind, "Jason's not."

"Teddy, don't you dare go back," Welch warned, but Teddy ignored him and tightened his shoe lace, "Don't you dare go back out-Fuck Teddy stop!"

Teddy turned and ran as fast as he could, leaving behind Welch and Dad. He stumbled and staggered over branches and plants but never dropped his speed to anything less than a jog, hurrying as fast as he humanly could back to Jason, carrying the AK-47 in hand and trying not to drop it.

" _How much air is in his lungs?"_

Teddy heard Damen ahead of him, laughing, and slowed down, pulling his weapon up.

Like he knew how to fucking use it.

Teddy wished, so much now, that he had learned how to use a weapon. Dad didn't want him or Pheebs to use weapons whatsoever, completely anti-gun, but mom would have let him learn. Papa Ray had taught her, after all, and she believed firmly that the best way to understand something's potential danger was to learn about it in the first place. Knowledge is power and all that shit.

" _Urgh, don't say stuff like that, Damen. I'm trying to keep my breakfast down_ ," a second, familiar voice, instructed. Where had he heard that voice before….

Teddy thought hard for a moment then gulped as remembered exactly when he last heard it; back in Liquid Knights where he'd witnessed a man shoot another man. Where he'd become an eye witness and a wanted man all in one night. Where he'd witnessed something that had destroyed his family and friends sense of normality.

Teddy growled lowly to himself; Slick was with Damen!

Grimacing as a branch jabbed him in the ear-hole-thing, Teddy lowered himself onto his belly. Slowly he crawled forward onto his tummy until he was looking down from the verge Damen had materialised upon earlier like some sort of demonic ghost. He cast his eyes down and instantly felt sick.

Jason was all shades of purple and blue, his legs kicking violently and his body worming around like a headless snake as he tried hard to pull off whatever Damen had wrapped around his neck. It took Teddy a second longer than it really should have to realise he was using a wire to suffocate Jason.

The dishonoured marine's eyes were dark and terrifyingly dead of any form of emotion and that really scared Teddy. They contrasted his wicked sneer perfectly as he tightened his hold on Jason's throat, spitting blood from his lips on to the floor. Jason had obviously managed to land a few good hits because Damen looked like shit; badly bruised and cut up with blood trickling down from a large wound on his forehead.

Jason kicked out, his left arm loose and floppy at his side as he tried desperately to get Damen off him.

"Come on you ugly fucker, don't fight it; let yourself sleep," Damen whispered loud enough for Teddy to hear. It was hard to watch, Damen somehow managing to tighten the silver wire more which caused Jason to gargle painfully, blood coming from a wound that the wire had caused around his neck. His body was becoming ridged and tense as he desperately gave it one final attempt to free himself.

"God, how is he not dead?" Slick hissed, gagging.

Teddy tore his eyes from Jason and focused them on Slick and saw the man had actually turned his back on the scene. Who'd have thought the big bad mobster was squeamish, huh?

Teddy smirked to himself momentarily until he noticed Jason wasn't wriggling so much. Teddy got up and moved. He stuck to the foliage cover, keeping as quiet as possible as he snuck up behind Damen and Jason, lifting the rifle and approached stealthily.

He couldn't fire the gun at Damen, he wasn't a confident shot and he knew he ran a real risk of striking Jason so it wasn't worth the risk. But he could club the cunt on the back of the head hard enough to get Jason some air. And Teddy was fucking sure he could smack this bitch up hard for hurting his Tay.

Holding the rifle by its muzzle, Teddy swung the gun as fast and as powerfully as he could and cracked the butt against Damen's cranium, causing the man to gasp in shock and drop the wire. He tried to turn around so Teddy swung again and smashed him on the side of his face, Damen falling to his side unconscious. The sound of impact would have been sickening on its own merit but the fact that it was Teddy who'd struck the man as hard as he'd done made the young man shake.

Jason coughed loudly, gasping and wheezing. He tried to get up but Teddy held him down for a moment, pulling the wire out of his skin and stuffing it in his pocket, never taking his eyes off Slick who was stood with his back to them both, covering his ears.

"Ted?" Jason choked, his vocal cords sounding as though they were utterly shredded. He lay in a heap as every breath brought him closer from the brink on unconsciousness. Teddy slung the gun around his back and tried to grab Jason under the arms so that he could pull him back to safety but Slick turned around.

"Damen, is he dea-what the fuck is going on!" Slick snapped, pulling his glock up to eye level and glaring between the unconscious Damen and Teddy and Jason, "Drop the rifle!"

Teddy shook his head and lifted the rifle, jumping to the side when Slick fired at him. He retaliated by shooting at the ground before Slick's feet to startle rather than hurt, "No, you drop the gun." He echoed, "And I wont kill you or DeMiro," Teddy promised.

"You aint running the shots here, Grey," Slick ordered, "Drop the rifle before I kill you and your bitch wet nurse," he threatened, nodding towards Jason, "You've got three seconds. One."

Teddy rose the AK-47 more confidently and licked his lips, finger on the trigger as he aimed for Slick's chest. Jason was slowly coming round at his feet, crawling behind Teddy for protection as he kept breathing and recuperating. Damen hadn't twitched since Teddy had clubbed him which either meant he was unconscious or dead.

Teddy didn't know which he would honestly rather.

Fuck he didn't want to kill anyone.

"Two."

 _Shit, shit, shit._

 _Pull the trigger. Come on, do it Ted. You can do it, fucking pull the trigger!_

Teddy licked his lips and pointed the rifle, unable to stop his entire body from shaking. Despite his pep talks he just couldn't do it, he couldn't pull the fucking trigger. He hated Slick, he hated Damen but he wasn't a killer. He'd never be a killer, no matter how big and tough he acted.

The reality was that he really, really, really did not want to end another man's life. It wasn't his choice to make; why should Teddy decide if this man lived or died? He was a criminal, sure, but Teddy wasn't a Saint either.

And killing Slick now wouldn't make Teddy a better person. It would make him a safe person, but St Peter wouldn't suddenly open the pearly gates for Teddy if he did fire.

FUCK!

"Stop, Slick. Don't do this," Teddy attempted, lowering his weapon and letting it hang on the strap on his shoulder, "Please. I know what it's like."

"What _what's like_?" Slick snapped, closing an eye as he aimed at Teddy. Jason grabbed Teddy's hips and used them to try and pull himself up and onto his feet. He was shaking badly, Teddy could feel his hands trembling as he tried to use Teddy's body to steady himself before he was able to stand freely and stably.

"Your father's incredibly successful. So's mine. I know what it feels like to never amount to their greatness. Their expectations," Teddy said, hands up now that Jason was on his feet and beside him, "It fucking sucks because all you want to do is your own thing. Which is fine, it's fine Stefano. Can I call you Stefano?"

Slick stared at Teddy hard, and then at Jason, before casting his dark eyes down to Damen who was slowly starting to rouse. Teddy saw his legs stretch out and his head move ever so slightly, which was a relief; Teddy really hadn't killed anyone.

He looked back at Teddy then, lifting one of those bushy dark eyebrows and nodding. He was very similar to Teddy, now that they were stood this close up. He wasn't bulky but he wasn't skinny; he was just very lean with a reasonably handsome face and tussled hair. If he'd have bumped into Slick in a nightclub he'd have never thought the man was this fearsome warlord he was desperately trying to be. Just another multicultural jock.

"Jason didn't see anything, Stefano. He didn't. All he saw was me running away. He can walk away now and nothing will happen to you, I swear," Teddy said firmly, stepping forward with his hands out, "I'm the only one who saw any of this. I saw it all, I recorded the video. Jason is innocent."

Slick smirked and shrugged, lowering his weapon, "You know what, Teddy? Can I call you Teddy?" he echoed with a mocking tone. "You're right," he said, turning to look back at Damen who was slowly standing up, blood pouring from the gash Teddy had made in his head, "Teddy is right, Damen; he's absolutely right."

Damen looked at Slick, then Teddy and spat blood at him, "Piece of shit."

"So you'll let Jason go?" Teddy asked hopefully, looking up at Slick and ignoring the large, psychotic, dishonoured marine who was now standing beside him again, "He's innocent. He can walk away and it'll not affect you whatsoever."

"Jason's free to go," Slick smiled, then pouted as he looked back at Damen, "Oh, Damen, you're bleeding?"

"Prick clubbed me with his rifle," Damen spat, glaring at Teddy still as he wiped blood from his eye, "Cunt."

Slick nodded and looked at Teddy darkly, rising his gun again, "You made my bodyguard bleed. That was a stupid idea, Teddy. Can I call you Teddy? That was a seriously stupid idea. Because I need to even us up."

"Wait, no," Teddy started as Slick pointed his gun directly at Jason's gut and fired.

Instinctively, he stepped to the left and covered Jason's body with his own, feeling the bullet penetrate his gut and embed itself into his stomach. Teddy dropped the AK-47, the gun hanging by its strap against Teddy's shoulder as Slick looked on with a laugh.

"Teddy?" Jason coughed as Teddy fell back against his father's bodyguard, "Teddy!"

Teddy pulled his hand away from his tummy and studied his bloodied hand, looking down at the growing red dampness of his t-shirt, "…fuck."

"It's okay, Teddy," Jason strained, lowering Ted to the ground and lifting up his shirt to examine his injury, "Fuck. Fuck, okay. You're okay, look at me."

Slick reloaded his weapon and held the gun towards Jason again as the bear like man tried to put pressure on Teddy's bullet wound. He grinned manically, is eyes alit with mirth. It was scary, Teddy thought, that a human being in this world could get so much joy from shooting another.

"You fuck with the big boys, Teddy, prepare to lose," Slick laughed hysterically, "Did you honestly think I wouldn't kill you? Did you? I'll have your heads mounted on my wall to warn everyone not to fuck with Stefano Esposito-"

Ring-ring-ring-ring.

Slick turned sharply and glared at Damen who was pulling an old Nokia from his jean pocket.

"If that's Melinda I'll rape her corpse for interrupting my moment," Slick threatened and Teddy watched as Damen tensed and glared. Whoever Melinda was, she was clearly a touchy subject for the ugly Marine, "Are you going to answer it, dipshit, or let it ring out?"

Damen narrowed his eyes and spat on the ground before answering, "DeMiro speaking. Oh, Hello Sir. No I'm not busy."

Slick rolled his eyes and looked back at Jason as he tried as best as he could to stem the flow of blood from Teddy's tummy. He went back to laughing, shaking his head, "You're wasting your time, Jason. Can I call you Jason?" Slick laughed manically, looking down at Teddy again, "Seriously, Dude, you should have shot me the minute I had the chance."

"I'm not a killer," Teddy coughed, the pain excruciating and the loss of blood making him dizzy, "I'm not like you."

"No, you're not a killer. But you're a loser. And losers die," Slick sneered, waving the gun around like it was merely a newspaper. He pointed it at last back to Jason, "Damen, who do I kill first?"

"…yes sir. Yes sir, if you're sure sir," Damen mumbled darkly, still taking his call. When he was addressed, he hung up and looked back at Slick, "That was your father on the phone, Slick."

"What was he saying?" Slick snarled, turning back to Teddy, "My father and I have had a bit of a falling out; he's not into the illegal side of the business now that he's an old fart. Sex industry, sure, gambling, you bet. But drugs and arms dealings and prostitution," Slick shuddered with a look of pure ecstasy on his face, "That sort of shit he's not got the heart for and he doesn't want to drag the family down that track again. But that's my angle, that's where I'm taking my boys. Weapons deals, cocaine distribution…that stuff gives me a serious hard on, you know what I'm saying?"

Teddy nodded weakly, feeling his hold on consciousness slipping away despite Jason's best efforts.

"So I'm going to kill you bitches now and Damen and I are heading to Mexico," Slick rambled, back to waving that damn gun around so fucking unprofessionally. Teddy knew fuck all about guns but he respected them and was certain that Slick was really not the big tough marksman he pretended to act as.

"Then put us out of our fucking misery," Jason choked, his voice still raw from his near strangulation, "Stop bigging yourself up. It's boring. You're boring me. I'm getting bored."

Teddy grimaced at Jason, watching as Slick pointed his gun directly against Jason's skull, "Shut up."

"Make me," Jason huffed, "You're acting like some hard cunt but the reality is you're a lost boy with daddy issues. I can tell. You're the same as this little prick," he nodded at Teddy, "Only Ted is a good person with a lot of potential under his tough boy bullshit. You're a boring prick. You've no friends, you've no wife or girlfriend, you're hated by your own fucking family, you don't know how to really use a gun or you'd stop waving it around like a giant foam finger. You're a lost cause and you'll meet your end sooner or later and what'll your legacy be? What have you done except fail your family."

"Take that back," Slick snapped, "Take that fucking back-"

"Make me," Jason ordered, sitting up onto his knees whilst keeping his good arm pressed against Teddy's tummy, "Fucking try it."

 **BANG.**

Teddy flinched and so did Jason, both looking at the other quickly and quizzically. A gun went off but neither was hurt, neither was shot.

Slowly, they both turned to look at Slick who's t-shirt was suddenly growing red.

 **BANG. BANG.**

Two more gunshots were fired and the second saw the back of Slick's head erupt and all matter of brain, blood and skull rained down upon Jason and Teddy. The man's body swayed before it collapsed face first on top of them, Jason kicking him off them with a gasp as he jarred his broken arm.

"What the fuck!" Teddy gasped, struggling to focus as the blood loss caught up with him, "What happened?"

He looked over to where Damen DeMiro was stood, lowering his pistol back into the waistband of his jeans and realised that it was Slick's own bodyguard who'd shot him, acting on the orders of whoever had called him.

Had it been Slick's father who's instructed his killing?

Was it another rival gang that Damen worked for?

"That's it done. It's over for you. No one's coming after you," Damen said, as though nothing had ever fucking happened. He'd just completely switched off from the blood and the gunshots and the death of his client. It was as though he didn't give a fucking damn.

He looked directly at Jason next, nodding at him, "Touch my girlfriend and I will murder your wife," Damen threatened, "Gail Taylor; the housekeeper."

"You have my word," Jason said firmly.

"Good," Damen replied courtly, "Never wanted to kill a fellow Marine."

Jason didn't reply, bringing his attention back down to Teddy's gunshot wound as Damen snuck off to god knows where, "Teddy, keep looking at me. I know it's hard, but I need you to stay awake."

"I'm trying," Teddy mumbled, though it was incredibly hard to keep his eyelids open, "Where's Damen now?"

"Gone," Jason muttered, looking back towards the direction of the lodge, trying to work out if he had the strength to carry Teddy back with his injuries, "You shouldn't have taken that bullet for me. You didn't need to do that."

"Aw, geez, I wish I'd known that," Teddy tried to joke, to make light of the situation, "Jason I'm cold."

"I know, Ted," Jason nodded, "Help's coming."

"Will you…will you tell mom and dad and Pheebs I love them?" Teddy asked softly, "In case help doesn't come."

"You can tell them yourself," Jason snapped.

"But in case I can't, will you tell them all that I loved them?" Teddy choked, "Mom and dad. My grandparents….Phoebe. Sawyer and Danni and the girls, Craig and Mei and…Reynolds, Nora and Ryan. Gail and Sophie. Especially Sophie," Teddy sighed softly, "Ahh, Sophie….Tell Soph I loved her. She was my rock…and I'm sorry…Jason I'm so sorry."

"Shhh," Jason hissed, "Stop talking like that. You're going to be fine. It's just a small wound. The girls wont even dig the pathetic scar."

"Thank you, Jason," Teddy mumbled, "I'm sorry…I can't stay….awake any…more."

"Teddy? Teddy?" Jason shouted loudly, "Help! I need a medic! Help! Someone help!"


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N; Made up hospital, based loosely on my own experiences trying to get information following an incident. Next chapter to come asap as I'm eager to end this story. This one's a bit of a filler I'm afraid.**

 **.**

 **Chapter Twenty-eight**

 **.**

 _Jason didn't reply, bringing his attention back down to Teddy's gunshot wound as Damen snuck off to god knows where, "Teddy, keep looking at me. I know it's hard, but I need you to stay awake."_

" _I'm trying," Teddy mumbled, though it was incredibly hard to keep his eyelids open, "Where's Damen now?"_

" _Gone," Jason muttered, looking back towards the direction of the lodge, trying to work out if he had the strength to carry Teddy back with his injuries, "You shouldn't have taken that bullet for me. You didn't need to do that."_

" _Aw, geez, I wish I'd known that," Teddy tried to joke, to make light of the situation, "Jason I'm cold."_

" _I know, Ted," Jason nodded, "Help's coming."_

" _Will you…will you tell mom and dad and Pheebs I love them?" Teddy asked softly, "In case help doesn't come."_

" _You can tell them yourself," Jason snapped._

" _But in case I can't, will you tell them all that I loved them?" Teddy choked, "Mom and dad. My grandparents….Phoebe. Sawyer and Danni and the girls, Craig and Mei and…Reynolds, Nora and Ryan. Gail and Sophie. Especially Sophie," Teddy sighed softly, "Ahh, Sophie….Tell Soph I loved her. She was my rock…and I'm sorry…Jason I'm so sorry."_

" _Shhh," Jason hissed, "Stop talking like that. You're going to be fine. It's just a small wound. The girls wont even dig the pathetic scar."_

" _Thank you, Jason," Teddy mumbled, "I'm sorry…I can't stay….awake any…more."_

" _Teddy? Teddy?" Jason shouted loudly, "Help! I need a medic! Help! Someone help!"_

.

.

 **17:30,**

 **Preston Royal infirmary,**

 **Victoria bc,**

 **Canada,**

.

Gail looked around the room at the worried faces and felt her heartbeat pick up a gear. Danni was sat across from her, a tissue in her hand which she used sparingly as she flicked through photos on her mobile phone. Like Luke, Danni was an incredibly strong individual who was adamant to see the funny, lighter side of truly horrible situations.

It was her dark sense of humour that was keeping them strong as they waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Craig was, for once, acting like a man that Jason would be comfortable around. It felt really offensive to think like that but Gail had never seen the man be anything other than flamboyant and wonderfully colourful, in all her years of knowing Reynolds' husband. Sitting with them now, he was wearing just blue jeans and a cosy navy blue jumper with blue addidas Sambas and a row of prayer beads.

No mad colours.

No mismatched patterns.

No make-up.

No suede.

No heels.

He was just plain for once, his arm wrapped around a sleeping Ana as he took on the male protector stereotype and encouraged everyone to be positive. He'd comforted Ana for ten minutes before the irate mother and wife became overwhelmed with tiredness and succumbed to sleep.

Mei and Phoebe were sat together watching a video on Mei's phone to pass the time, Stonehouse and Thompson standing guard by their door and attempting to get some sort of information as to what was going on.

Because no one seemed to be able to tell them who was alive and who was dead.

When they were first told that Slick had a warrant against his name and that authorities were closing in, the two bodyguards had organised Gail and Ryan a transfer to a Canadian Private hospital where they could recuperate nearer their families and loved ones but in a location safe and unknown to Slick and his thugs. Gail had been given the go-ahead to fly, the doctors satisfied with how the surgery had went and her overall recovery rate.

Sure, her legs wobbled but considering over ten days ago she'd undergone surgery to remove that blasted tumour, she was recovering well. Ryan hadn't been given the okay to fly, however, and so was reluctantly remaining in London with his beautiful girlfriend to nurse him back to full strength.

One blow job at a time.

Gail had to smile now as she recalled when Ana told her what she'd walked into; poor Ryan for not getting to finish, poor Nora for being caught with a dick in her mouth and poor Ana who couldn't get the image of Ryan's fernum ladder piercings out of her head. To be fair, Gail was just as horrified by them and couldn't believe that her beloved baby Ranger Ryan had had them done. That bloody Sawyer, introducing her Ryan to the body modification world.

So Ana, Gail and Phoebe had made the trip back to Canada with the bodyguards Thompson and Stonehouse, taking a private charted plane as opposed to the Grey Jets to be sure their movements were done under the radar for extra safety. Usually Gail hated flying, having lost her first husband to a microlight crash, but the jet was pleasant and her medication had her asleep for most of it, waking up only for a chicken roll and a cup of coffee. It was oddly nice and she felt at peace for once, wrapped in a thick cosy blanket with her book, eager to get home and see her husband.

Everything had been going to plan until Thompson and Stonehouse received a phonecall that saw their faces drop. Three hours from landing someone contacted Stonehouse's mobile phone and told them to go straight to the hospital; ' _it's an emergency._ '

At first, Gail feared that the doctors in England had rechecked the samples of her tumour and now believed it to be cancerous. It was really shellfish of her, and she felt guilty for instantly thinking the worst for herself, but it had only been because she had complete faith in her husband's abilities to keep himself and the others safe that she'd just assumed that it was her who was at risk. So when Stonehouse had walked over to speak to Gail, Ana and Pheebs, she could have cried.

' _There's been a shoot-out in British Columbia. Multiple casualties and some fatalities. It's still going on but one of the authorities recognised Welch_ ," Stonehouse had told them, _"I don't know anymore, ladies. I'm so sorry. We're going as fast as we can and we'll be at the hospital soon."_

" _Can you get hold of the others?"_ Ana had asked, face white as a sheep _, "Luke…Luke always answers his phone. He even answered during sex once,"_ she said _, "Try him."_

" _He's not answering, ma'am,"_ Stonehouse had said which was when Gail and Ana and Phoebe realised that something horrible and unspeakable had happened to their friends and lovers, _"No one is answering.'_

The rest of the plane ride had been hell thereon out, the trip to the hospital just as horrific. It was only made bearable by seeing the faces of their friends and fellow worriers, Craig, Mei and Danni. The Sawyer daughters were not with their mother, Danni saying that they were nervous wrecks already without dealing with their dad. They'd been greeted by a nurse who knew very little and had all been sat in the waiting room ever since.

Gail shook her aching head and looked away from the others to focus back on the television in the corner of the room. The same anchor-man was repeating the same details in the same tone over and over again. There was nothing new to report until death tolls and critical injuries were recorded and even then, everyone in this room would know before the media who had made it and who hadn't. Still, Gail couldn't help but watch it.

 _'...mass shooting.. Authorities neutralised the Threat after a two hour standoff.'_

 _'... Several casualties... Confirmed fatalities but it is unknown exactly what the death toll is.'_

 _'Due to the amount of injuries, locals are being encouraged to only call emergency services if it is absolutely an emergency... delays and cancellations are to be expected.'_

 _'...area is still cornered off...'_

 _'It is not being treated as a terrorist attack but rather a gang shooting.'_

 _'...more details as they come.'_

It was the same details over and over again. No one knew what was happening or where their loved ones were. Every time Craig or Danni waved down a doctor, their pager would go off and they would run away to A&E to stabilise whoever was failing.

God she hoped Jason wasn't failing.

Or Christian.

Or Teddy.

Or Luke and Reynolds and Welch.

Gail thumbed one of her crystal rocks, her good luck Stone that the spiritualist sold her on her last visit. It was hard to summon the strength to think positively but she tried as hard as she could to recall happy moments in her life with her husband.

The moment he proposed, in Paris in the pouring rain, in December. Half drunk and half hypothermic, Jason had insisted that they go to the Eiffel tower after dinner. He'd gotten down on one knee, his fingers numb and his teeth chattering. She'd said yes, make up running down her face so much that she'd looked like a member of Kiss.

Watching Sophie win her first taekwondo tournament for the ten to thirteen group on a Saturday afternoon then watching her play Odette in ballet the next evening dressed like an absolute princess.

When Gail came back from a weekend at her sisters after a bad argument to find Jason in bed with Luke, sleeping in Luke's arms, both absolutely adorable and out cold drunk.

That time Mr and Mrs Grey were taking longer in the shower than an individual should normally take if they were just cleaning, and Jason lifted Gail's pencil skirt and had sex with her there and then, very publicly in the Escala kitchen.

The time Jason drove all the way up from Portland on his ' _downtime_ ' so that he could celebrate Gail's birthday with her the way a new couple should really spend a birthday.

That time Jason broke down and told her about Mary and Calvin and his childhood outside San Antonio. How horrible it had been losing his father so young to the Vietnam War then losing his mother to the clutches of mental health and living with a father who practiced hate speech.

 _Please, Sailor, please be okay._

"Mrs Taylor?"

Gail's breath caught in her throat as she looked over at the student nurse stood at the doorway. She was a young thing, dumpy and freckly but she had kind eyes and a calm energy about her.

"Yes hello…sorry, sweetie, but I've forgotten your name," Gail admitted.

"Ellie, please," Nurse Ellie smiled, "I was just coming to see how _you_ were?"

Phoebe grunted a little, as though finding the question ridiculous; they were all incredibly stressed. Though Gail heard the emphasis in Ellie's ' _you_ ' and knew she was only interested in Gail at the current moment.

"Truth be told, I'm exhausted," Gail told her nurse, "My head's a little sore."

"Well I have a family room with a bed available if you'd like," Ellie explained. Gail winced and looked at her friends, not keen to leave them. They'd all made a pact to be honest with each other from the get go, to face bad news and good news as a united supportive front. She really did not want to be alone. Ellie obviously saw her trepidation, "You're all welcome. There's a little sofa and a television. It's a little smaller than this but sometimes, when the world feels as though it's crumpling around you," she waved out to the hall where two doctors were sprinting down the corridor, "a smaller room with good friends is more beneficial."

"That would be lovely," Craig smiled, nudging Ana awake, "Has there been any more information? We've been waiting to know what's going on for ages now and no one's come in yet."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but I'm not working in that department," Ellie explained, "But I will try and grab one of my colleagues and get someone to you as quickly as possible."

Craig nodded and Ana stood, pulling her jacket around her more tightly. They all followed Ellie to the promised room where Gail got comfortable on the bed with Mei cosying into her godmother. Ana and Danni sat on the sofa together whilst Craig set the room's television onto the news once more, Phoebe going with Stonehouse to get everyone some refreshments.

Gail sighed and looked over at Thompson who was on his mobile phone, "Have you heard anything, Thompson?"

"No, ma'am," Thompson sighed, rubbing his sleepy eyes. He fixed her with a shy smile and added with that odd Welsh accent, "Sorry, my girlfriend's sent me cat photos."

"Cat guy, huh?" Danni asked, her arm around Ana as everyone looked over at the bodyguard curiously.

Thomspon coughed and nodded, "We've three Maine coon cats. Trashy, Derry and It."

"Stephen King fans?" Ana laughed. Gail smiled; it was a lovely sound despite how horrible the circumstances.

"I am. She likes Sci-fi more than horror and thriller," Thompson smiled, showing off his crooked teeth, "I told her that if we got Maine Coons I get to name them. It is actually my mother's cat, we inherited him. Little prick. Trashy and Derry have been with us since they were kittens."

"What's your favourite book?" Ana asked curiously.

"The Stand," Thompson replied instantly, "That chapter where The Kid sodomises Trashy gets me every time. I stopped using pistols because of it. Or Pet Sematary. Yourself?"

"I loved Gerald's Game," Ana said, "The one with the handcuffs?"

"Yes," Thompson nodded eagerly, sitting forward. It was oddly cute to see the bodyguard so excited to talk about books, Gail thought. Jason loved books but he never discussed them like this, even when Gail also read the same book after him. Ana seemed to be appreciating having a conversation which was occupying her mind at the current moment, "My girlfriend wanted to spice things up in the bedroom once and I made her read Gerald's Game. Safe to say that that shut her up."

Ana laughed and the pair continued to talk about books of multiple genres, as well as favourite authors and movie adaptations. It made for a nice change to the news reel, Gail thought as she dozed off with Mei snuggled against her chest.

.

.

 **An hour later with still no real news…**

.

"Dad!" Mei suddenly shouted, everyone's heads snapping towards the room door.

James Reynolds smiled weakly through the glass panel, tears in his bland brown eyes as he closed the door behind him and turned to face the group. He looked incredibly bruised and swollen and sore, it took Gail's breath away.

He was almost unrecognisable from the sensible, plain looking man they knew and loved, particularly since the hair he still had at the back and side of his skull had grown out alongside his beard.

His quick and alert eyes were bloodshot and bruised, the left one swollen shut nearly with three strips of adhesive tape closing a nasty looking gash on his temple above. He'd a purple-red bruise to the right side of his skull with the matching colour evident on his hand which was being supported by a sling.

"Hi," he choked, limping into the room with a crutch under his one good arm, Gail looking down at seeing his lower left leg was freshly casted up. He looked lost and overwhelmed, his smile a mere tight line across his lower jaw as he tried to keep his emotions in check.

He was in such a state that it completely broke Gail's heart and she started to cry in relief that he was alive, in worry for the others who they were yet to hear from despite every fucking doctor promising they'd be right with them. The unprofessionalism was infuriating and Gail knew that Mr Grey would have this hospital sued for putting Ana and Phoebe through this ordeal.

"Dad!" Mei repeated, leaping from the bed and running into her father's arms where she instantly broke down in tears. The stress and fear of everything that had gone on twinned with the relief that her father was not one of the ' _fatalities_ ' was absolutely evident as the young woman wept and wept and wept against Reynolds, who was also crying. He'd dropped his crutch with a clatter and was using Mei to lean on, sniffling into her raven black hair, "I thought you were dead."

"I thought I was dead too, sweetheart," Reynolds gasped quietly, laying his head on Mei's skull and looking up at Craig. The smaller man was glaring furiously at his injured husband, his hands running through his afro hair, "Craig?"

"Fuck you, James," Craig growled, storming over to his husband and giving him the single most aggressive hug Gail had ever seen. Mei stepped aside as her Daddy grabbed Reynolds and pulled him into a bear hug, squeezing him tightly as Reynolds did the same back, wincing at his injuries, "Never fucking do that to me again, you absolute prick."

Gail watched as Craig inhaled Reynold's scent, burying his face against the man's scratched up neck, "You're a fucking mess."

"I'm sorry," Reynolds croaked, crying against Craig's dark skin, "I'm so sorry for scaring you."

"You, scaring me? Wait till I see your boss and Taylor. Then you'll know what scary is," Craig threatened with the same uncharacteristic aggression as his hug had been.

He was angry, furious even, as he held his broken husband, having thought he'd lost the love of his life and the second parent to their daughter, "You're handing in that fucking resignation letter and then you're done with Grey. Done with security work."

Reynolds didn't seem to doubt him, just held his husband until they parted and shared an intense, noisy, ' _not in front of the boss's wife_ ' kiss which saw Phoebe, Ana and Danni looking away shyly.

"I've been so fucking scared," Craig choked up now, pulling back, "I thought I'd lost your ugly face."

"Afraid not," Reynold coughed, smiling as he placed his forehead against Craig's then pulled Mei back into a hug as he began to sway on his one good leg, "I've missed you both so much."

"Come on, Reynolds, sit down," Gail instructed, tapping the bottom of her bed. Reynolds froze for a moment and looked up at Gail, then to Ana and Phoebe, then to Danni in the corner of the room. He looked shocked, and shook his head in confusion.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were all here," he admitted, "I just saw Craig and Mei," he explained, gently rubbing his sore head, "I'm sorry, I'm-"

"Take a seat, babe," Craig instructed, hand on the small of his husband's back as he directed him towards Gail's bed and helped him get comfortable, "You've been through a lot. You're allowed to be cloudy."

Reynolds nodded, accepting the glass of water Ana handed him, "Thank you, Mrs Grey."

"Ana," Ana corrected firmly, squeezing his one good arm, "Geez, Reynolds. What happened to you?"

"I-I don't really remember. I got knocked out," Reynolds explained, staring down at the floor hard, "I'm a little….uh," he stopped and shared a look with Craig. The smaller man nodded and turned to look at Phoebe and Mei.

"Hey girls," Craig said, "Why don't you guys go see if you can bring us some dinner? Reny is hungry I think." He smiled, pulling money out of his wallet and handing it to Phoebe, "Please?"

Phoebe nodded and looked at Thompson before going with him and Mei to get some dinner and, more importantly, to allow the adults to talk uncensored. Gail was sure Ana would fill Phoebe in with all the details but Mei was still only a teenager and a lot more sensitive than the youngest Grey.

The kids had all been so strong for the most part, Phoebe in particular shared the same control freak mentality of her father and also displayed a logical mind set much like Jason's. It was she who had insisted Thompson drive to the nearest internet café, log into Jason's google docs, to which she knew the password, and retrieve the required NDA for everyone working on her father and friends in the hospital.

She'd also been the one to use her initiative and call Roz and Christian's senior board to let them know he had been located, although they didn't know exactly what state of life he was in. Ana had hugged her for taking control and orchestrating what her father and Jason would normally oversee. Thompson and Stonehouse were happy to follow her procedures and policies, a little lost since they were used to politician jobs and international protection jobs rather than celebrity work.

Truly, Phoebe Grey was a credit to her father. She had her mother's beauty but that was as close to being like Ana that she got. She was logical, orderly, mathematically minded.

"What happened to you?" Craig asked his husband the moment the door closed behind the girls.

"We escaped through the roof," Reynolds started, "It's fuzzy but we escaped through the roof. Jason had a weak spot in the attic that we broke out of to get away. I think they blew up the door? I can't remember," he said, staring at his leg cast. His words weren't really making sense and felt a little out of context to Gail, but she imagined he'd really hit his head hard, "Welch held them off on the ground while Luke, Callum and I made camp on the roof. Callum jumped down to help Welch while me and Luke gave cover from above."

"Where was Jason, Teddy and Mr Grey?" Danni asked, thankfully.

Gail and Ana were dying to know where their men were but didn't want to seem brash and uncaring to Reynolds by hurrying him along in his recollection of the ordeal. Danni, however, asked, which made Gail feel less like a bitch to her dear, struggling, friend.

Reynolds nodded and sighed, "I think they…Mr Grey was hurt. It's fuzzy but he was hurt and Jason and Teddy took him," he explained, "Luke yelled 'Grenade' and that's the only thing I really remember. Then it's all black. Callum found me and I've been told by the doctors that I've a broken leg and bruised bones in my arm," he explained, nodding at his gammy arm and leg, "Concussion too; a piece of the roof whacked my skull on the way down. I remember that, actually."

He stared down at the ground hard and Gail could see his swollen sore eyes filling with tears. He gulped hard and shook his head, clearing his throat and 'manning up', as Jason would say. "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened to the others. Luke was beside me but I don't remember if he jumped or fell off the roof like I did or," he shrugged and gulped again.

"You're safe now," Craig promised, squeezing Reynolds knee, "You're okay. You don't need to remember anything just now."

Reynolds nodded wordlessly and wiped his eyes, "Just a bit of survivor's guilt, you know?"

"Don't be guilty," Craig said firmly, "Listen to me; you are not the person who should feel guilty right now. You did everything in your power to help, James Reynolds. You're a hero."

Reynolds nodded, then his face crumpled and he slumped forward against Craig's chest with a sob.

.

.

 **Twenty minutes later…**

.

"Mr Sawyer-"

"Luke. He hates being Mister-ed," Danni interrupted, giving the prim and proper doctor in front of her that intense stare that Gail had heard Luke refer to as her ' _Jenny from the block_ ' death glare. Gail could relate to Danni's agitation however; this was the first fucking doctor to come and speak to them since they'd arrived.

It was beyond a joke now; Gail felt forgotten by the medics, as if the loved ones of the injured weren't important. She knew they were busy but surely someone, anyone, could come and let them know if their men were alive at least. The unknown was killing her and Ana and Phoebe.

"Oh yes, sorry; Luke," the doctor said, looking down at her notes and sighing as she tapped her pencil on the pad, "He's recovering well, Danni. From what he's tried to tell us he fell from a roof and hit his face off the ground at a speed. He's a few nasty cuts and bruises but ultimately he's in a good, strong state."

Danni let out a sigh of relief, shaking her head and smiling beautifully and sincerely," So he's okay?"

"He is," the doctor nodded firmly, "His worst injury has been several compound mandible fractures," she continued and drew a skull on her note pad before pointing at the jaw and showing Danni, "The mandible is your jaw bone. Luke has two compound breaks here," she explained, "And he's got some splintered bone here too."

"So his jaw's been broken?" Danni asked, needing it clarified in simple terms.

"Yes, he's broken his jaw," the doctor nodded, "He's been unconscious until now but he's coming round and he's agreed he'll undergo the surgery tomorrow. The surgeon will realign the compound fractures," she pointed at the two bones that she'd drawn coming out of the skull's mouth, "And clean up the splinters. Luke will then need to have his jaw wired shut for a period of time to help it recover in place."

"... you're going to wire my husband's jaw? " Danni asked, rising her eyebrow before laughing," Dear God I can't believe it. If I knew a broken jaw was all it would take to shut his smartass up, Jason and I would have clubbed him ourselves," Danni joked, using humour again to carry herself through this ordeal now that she knew her husband and father to their traumatised daughters was going to be okay, "Can I see him?"

"Of course, Mrs Sawyer. If you want to come with me please," the doctor stood and smiled sympathetically, "He's incredibly tired so I'd ask you to let him sleep if he's not already doing so."

"Wait," Danni stopped before they left and looked at the doctor, "Look, I understand that there's a lot going on. I understand that the police are holding all the information as tight-lipped as possible. I understand that you can't hand out details to any tom dick or harry. But we've been in this room for hours with no news."

The doctor frowned and looked at Danni with a risen eyebrow before casting her eye towards Gail and everyone else in the room, "No one's been here yet?"

"No," Ana snapped, "We know that the paramedics took our loved ones here. We don't know anything else."

"We are waiting to hear if Richard Welch, Jason Taylor, Christian Grey and Theodore Grey are alive and well. It's beyond unprofessional now; we've been here for fucking forever. And you better believe the lawsuit coming your way if the Greys are left in the dark a moment longer," Danni continued, full of sassy ferocity as she pointed straight into the doctor's face, completely done with the medical professionals. "I mean it. We don't even know if they're even alive. It's a fucking joke."

"Can you please just send someone down to speak to us," Craig joined in, sticking up for them too, stroking the sleeping Reynolds' head, "Every time we track a doctor down they fuck off to help someone who's crashing. I understand they're all busy but we need to know what's going on."

"I-I'm so sorry, I hadn't realised no one has been here to speak to you," the doctor spluttered, no doubt fearing the threat of legal action against the hospital. It was horrible to have to make the threat but Gail had known Christian Grey for decades and knew that he would crumple this hospital if he felt the staff had mistreated his Ana and Phoebe, "Let me speak to my colleagues and get them to come and speak to you-"

"Oh, like we've not heard that before," Phoebe huffed and rolled her eyes.

"I won't sue if you tell me right now," Ana said firmly, running her hands together in her lap, "Is my husband and son, Richard Welch and Jason Taylor alive?"

The doctor froze and looked at the floor, shaking her head.

"We're not going to tell anyone you've told us," Ana added, "We'll act just as surprised as we need to be. But I cannot go another minute not knowing what's happened to my family and friends. Reynolds is alive, Sawyer is alive. We're still missing Christian, Teddy, Jason and Welch."

The doctor took a deep breath and closed the door for privacy, looking at Ana directly, "Jason, Christian and Teddy are alive but it's critical. It could go downhill drastically any minute; neither man is out of the woods yet. I can't tell you much else, they're not my patients. Mr Welch is, however, and he's fine and comfortable in his own room. He was the man who was able to identify everyone individually to the paramedic teams," the doctor said, "I can't say anymore but I can go and speak to their doctors right now and find out what's going on."

"I would appreciate it if you could," Ana said before having to wipe her eyes, "You're sure my husband and son are alive? That they're…okay?"

"They're not okay, Mrs Grey. Not by a long shot, but they are alive at the moment and their doctors haven't left their sides since they arrived. I can speak to them and try to get more information for you and arrange a visit," the doctor promised, clearly still terrified that she and the entire hospital would be sued for their unprofessionalism so far.

As the doctor trotted out in her high heels, Gail felt her anxieties spike. She didn't know if she should celebrate her husband's being alive or panic that the doctor believed it to be so touch and go.

She looked over and saw Ana and Phoebe experiencing the same conflict. Their men were alive but they were obviously seriously wounded or hurt to warrant the doctor's uncertainty of their future.

Phoebe's face crumpled slightly and Ana pulled her daughter into a tight, comforting hug, stroking Phoebe's thick brown hair, "I just want dad and Teddy and Tay," Phoebe choked in her mother's arms.

"They're going to be okay, Phoebe," Ana promised with as much conviction as she could muster, "They're all going to be alright."

Gail looked at Reynolds who was now sleeping on Gail's bed with his husband stroking his bruised skull. If Reynolds and Luke's injuries were 'fine', she was seriously worried for whatever state Jason, Christian and Teddy were in.

 _Please, let them live_ , she silently prayed as she watched Danni leave the room with the snooty doctor to see her own husband.

.

 **wanted to get Reynolds and Sawyer out of the way so next chapter will be more Christian, Teddy and Jason orientated. Thank you for reading**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-nine.**

.

 **19:45,**

 **Preston Royal infirmary,**

 **Victoria bc,**

 **Canada,**

 **.**

Ana took a deep breath as she stared at her beloved husband through the ICU window, wishing she could be by his side this very second to hold his hand and promise him that she loved him, that he would be okay and that he was safe at last.

She was horrified but not because of his horrific burns.

No.

She was horrified because she couldn't be there for him like she desperately wanted to be. She watched desperately as the two nurses in the room dressed his raw arm, wearing masks and long gloves to limit Christian's exposure to any possible infection they could be carrying.

"When can I go in?" Ana asked softly, looking at Doctor Hertfordshire hopefully. He was a nice man from what she'd seen so far and would be Christian's doctor for the foreseeable future, Ana was sure. He was of Arabic descent with an accent which was being influenced by his Canadian peers. It was his kind brown eyes which Ana liked the most about him, however. They offered her reassurance that he would be completely honest with her which is what she desperately wanted right now.

The Doctor shook his head and looked towards Christian now too, "Once his wounds are dressed. He's very weak right now, Mrs Grey, and a high infection risk. Visits are going to be short until we get him through this telling period."

"Is he going to need skin grafts?" Ana asked, wrapping her arms around her body and wishing like mad that she wasn't alone with the doctor. She could have used someone to offer her support but Danni was with Luke, Craig was with Reynolds and Ana had asked Phoebe to go with Gail to find Taylor when Dr Hertfordshire revealed he was part of the burns unit.

Ana hadn't known what state her husband would be in and wanted to prepare her daughter for seeing him in case he was horribly disfigured.

"His arm will need surgery. Skin grafts and pressure bandages; we're going to have to operate in the next couple of days provided he's strong and stable enough for it; we're only just stabilising him from his shock" Hertfordshire said firmly, "His face will be okay though. He'll maybe be left with some scarring or changes to the pigmentation of his face but ultimately it's a second degree burn."

"It's just a face," Ana said then laughed softly, "He used to always say that. 'It's just a face.'."

"I suppose it is, ma'am," Hertfordshire mused, watching the nurses giving Christian an IV containing what Ana assumed would be pain relief. She saw Christian shifted his leg and his head rolled against the pillow onto the burnt side. A nurse smiled down at him and adjusted him so he was laying on the other side.

"What's the difference?" Ana asked with a gulp, "I know that third degree burns are serious but…what's actually happened to his arm?"

"The burns on his face, the second degree burns, affects the top layer of skin, the epidermis, and the dermis which is the lower layer of skin," the doctor said, "His face is going to blister and hurt like hell for a long time. The third degree burn on his arm and shoulder have gone deeper than the dermis and have damaged the deeper tissues underneath; the fat. He's not going to feel that as much as his face, however."

"Why?" Ana asked worriedly.

"Because he's sustained some serious nerve damage in that area. Welch informed the paramedics that Mr Grey wasn't even aware his arm was burnt; he only felt his face." Hertfordshire admitted, being completely honest with Ana like she'd hoped.

"You'll help him, won't you," Ana stated, looking at the doctor.

"Absolutely," the doctor nodded firmly, "Burns take time. It's a long and incredibly painful recovery process. It's not a case of slapping a cast on and chucking some painkillers at a patient. But we'll get there. We've cadaver skin ready and waiting for a temporary graft. He'll receive the best physio for his arm…he's in the safest hands possible. Trust me. Soon you'll be able to visit him more conventionally but until then, you're always welcome to come down here and see him."

"My son's here too, somewhere," Ana said, looking at Hertfordshire now, "Do you know where Teddy is?"

"I don't I'm afraid," he said honestly, "I've been working with your husband and assisting with a few other patients that came in from that shooting."

"You mean the Esposito thugs who tried to kill my son," Ana scoffed.

"I don't know the details, Mrs Grey. All I know is that I have a duty of care to every wounded person who walks through this door, irrespective of race, religion and creed," Hertfordshire said diplomatically, "What I can say is there's a heavy police presence; certain individuals will not be leaving this hospital unsupervised," he said and offered Ana a reassuring smile before checking his watch, "If you'll excuse me, Mrs Grey, I must go and catch up on some paper work," he said and left Ana stood watching her husband closely.

He was unconscious and hooked up to several machines and fluid drips, stripped completely down with the sheets draped over his hips.

Oh Christian…

Ana was desperate to be by his side but understood that for his benefit she couldn't, not yet. At the moment all she could do was try and imagine what she was going to tell her daughter when she found Phoebe. The burns weren't as bad as Ana was expecting, her mind having instantly jumped to the cremated lost limbs scenario, but that didn't mean his injuries weren't severe. The fact that he could have permanent nerve damage devastated Ana and she was scared with how much that could impact her husband's quality of life;

No flying,

No driving,

Using cutlery,

Fishing,

Golf business trips,

Dressing himself,

Sex in the playroom…

But he could have died, Ana reminded herself. Christian could have been the poor man in the car when the bomb had gone off. She was incredibly lucky to not have doctors identifying his body through dental records.

"How's he doin'?"

Ana recognised the strong Bostonian accent before she'd even turned round. Welch had snuck into the room, wearing a pair of adorable Snoopy flannel bottoms and an open white mismatching shirt. She could see he had a bandage around his dadbod, a little blood having seeped through slightly, and he was walking very carefully over to Ana and the window.

"They've stabilised him," Ana said with a heavy sigh, "The nurses are just wrapping his wounds up. He'll need surgery in a few days to start the healing process but they need to know he's not going to go into shock again."

"He was grey when I got him back to the lodge," Welch admitted, shaking his head and sighing also. He approached a water cooler and poured himself a cup, "I carried the fat fucker on my shoulder the whole way."

Ana chuckled softly, shaking her head. Christian was not fat whatsoever. He'd maybe lost a bit of muscle mass as he'd gotten older but he wasn't fat whatsoever. He did, however, have a few extra inches on Welch's average height so Ana could only imagine how hard it would be for Welch to carry Christian with a stab wound.

"How are you, Welch? Someone said your wife was here," Ana smiled, "We've not seen her."

"Ah Moira's fine; she's exhausted though so she's sleepin' in my bed while I stretch my legs, check up on everyone," Welch shrugged and looked at Christian through the window, sipping his water, "I'm doing alright too, considering the stab wound. I saw Reynolds earlier; he looks…traumatised."

"I think he is," Ana admitted, "He was crying, actually. I've never seen Reynolds so overwhelmed."

"He'll be fine once he rationalises everything," Welch shrugged, "He's an intellectual; a few sessions with a therapist and he'll understand everything he needs to pull himself together."

"Sawyer needs to have his jaw wired for a couple of months too," Ana told him next, "I don't know if you've seen Luke or Danni yet but he'd got two compound fractures in his jaw."

"Thank fuck," Welch smirked sincerely and chuckled deeply, "Thank the lord for small miracles, huh? If I'd known a broken jaw was all it would take to shut that fucker up I'd have done it myself."

"Funny, Danni said the same thing," Ana laughed, genuinely, for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, "Silver linings, I suppose. Have you spoken to Taylor yet? Do you know anything about Ted?" she asked, hoping that Welch knew more information that anyone else seemed to be able to offer her.

"Naaaaaah," Welch said, wiping his nose and clearing his throat, "I've no idea what's happening with them. Haven't seen them since the lodge."

"Welch, what actually happened?" Ana asked softly, watching Christian sadly, "No one's telling us anything. I sent Phoebe off with Gail to try and find Taylor because I had no idea what state Christian was in; I wanted to prepare her. What happened at that lodge?"

"They knew where we were. The Esposito boy. I don't know who they followed, I don't know how they knew were we were, but they found Jason's lodge," Welch said with a grumble, "This morning we were going to move to Seattle again to start the court case procedures, meet with the lawyers, you know all that bull crap. Then when one of our fuckin' cars exploded. Jackson, this lovely British chap, died in the car and your husband went flying."

"What happened to Teddy?" Ana pressed, trying to remove the image of her injured husband from her mind. She hated thinking about how he'd become hurt. All that matter to her right now was that she help Christian get better, "What happened to my son, Welch."

"I've no idea, Ana. Initially he and Jason ran with Christian to get away and we were holding off the Esposito goons until the mounties arrived. When they did, I ran back through the woods to get them but they were maybe a mile or two ahead. I tried to bring them back but we were ambushed by that creepy fucker, Damen," he explained, taking a breath and unconsciously stroking his pained stab wound, "Jason held him off so we could get Grey back to the medical professionals. But as we ran away we heard Jason shriek. Like, a horrible, agonising scream,"

A strange look befell Welch there and he ended up staring at Christian in an almost haze.

Perhaps Reynolds wasn't the only one who was a little wary following the attack.

"I'm not sure what happened to Jason," he continued eventually, "I won't know till Jason or Teddy rouse from wherever the fuck they are. But one thing I do know is that Ted ran back to Jason, even when I told him not to."

"He ran back for Jason?" Ana gasped, feeling sick.

Welch nodded, "Yeah. The last time I saw either of them, I was leading the authorities back to where I left them originally. Jason was trying to carry Ted but he collapsed the moment we got to him. Lotta blood loss."

"What…what sort of injuries did they have?" Ana whispered softly, feeling her eyes tear up.

"I don't know; there was a lot of blood and, by that time, I was phasing out too," Welch sighed, "I'm glad Mr Grey's stable, Ana. Teddy will be fine too, I'm sure."

"I hope so, Welch. I'm desperate to know what's going on. All I know is that he's not out of surgery yet and I'm so scared," Ana sighed, biting her lip and wiping her eyes, "My poor baby boy. How did I let him end up like this?"

"He went back for Jason, Mrs Grey," Welch reminded her, "He could have saved Jason's life by doing that. There's potential for him yet, I'm sure."


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N** Second part of the last chapter. Let me know your thoughts!

 **.**

 **Chapter thirty.**

 **.**

 **21:46**

 **Preston Royal infirmary,**

 **Victoria bc,**

 **Canada,**

 **.**

Gail was with Phoebe, walking around the hospital to try and find out more from their loved ones. Gail knew Ana had encouraged Phoebe to help Gail because she was worried what state Christian would be in and didn't want her daughter to see him unprepared. Gail was glad for the company, however, especially as her headache was at the sickening level. A nurse had given them directions, apparently Jason and potentially Teddy were in a completely different area to Mr Grey, Welch, Reynolds and Sawyer. It highlighted the extent of everyone's different injuries.

Luke merely had a broken jaw –Gail couldn't believe that she'd ever find a broken jaw a 'minor' injury- so was in an orthopaedic ward with Reynolds, who'd a broken leg and bruised bones in his arm. They were sharing a room in the busy hospital which was fine, Gail thought; it meant that they would never be alone. Eventually Craig and Danni would have to leave their sides for their children's sakes, but hopefully their stay in hospital would be short lived with their injuries.

Welch should have been in the ICU considering he'd been stabbed, but was miraculously on his feet and walking. Gail knew the man was a former SEAL and had been on Luke's Team in their past lives, but he'd a bad phobia of hospitals. She'd spoken to his wife Moira who'd said that since he'd left the forces he'd taken military cleanliness to an extreme level and was borderline obsessed with order, position and, perhaps the worst, germs. She'd told Gail that the man bleached everything in his house which explained why his hands always looked sore and irritated. Being in a hospital was the man's worst nightmare; too many sick people, too many diseases, too many germs. He'd discharge himself as quickly as he could.

"I hope Tay's okay, Gail," Phoebe admitted as they headed to the Orthopaedic Ward to see Luke while they waited for Jason to get out of surgery.

"I hope so too," Gail smiled, opening the ward door and spotting Luke instantly.

His face was swollen and looked incredibly sore but his eyes smiled when he saw Gail and Phoebe.

"'eebs," he waved, looking at Phoebe, "ma prin-shesh,"

"Luke," Phoebe sniffed and ran over to her mother's CPO, cuddling into him tightly, "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too," Luke slurred, unable to really move his jaw so his speaking incredibly skewed. He looked at Gail and cuddled her next, "'ello gorge-ush," he said.

"Hello hot stuff," Gail smiled and sat back, looking down at him then to Danni who was sat in a chair by his side, watching him with nothing but love and adoration in her eyes, "How is he?"

"He's baked," Danni laughed, "He's higher than the empire state. I think they've given him too much pain relief."

"I dish-agree," Luke complained, looking at his wife, "P'ease shuck my dick."

"Luke," Danni warned, "Stop saying that." She rolled her eyes and looked at Gail and Phoebe, "He's hopeless at medication. I've no idea what they gave him this time but he's spacey. I don't think he's really aware of his surroundings."

"P'ease?" Luke mumbled, reaching out and poking Danni's thigh, "Hey? You I'noring me?"

Danni just continued to do just that; ignore him. She took hold of his prodding hand and let him interlink their fingers which seemed to calm him down happily.

"How's Reynolds?" she asked curiously.

"We left him sleeping in the waiting room," Phoebe said, "I think he just needed time alone with his family."

"He was really upset earlier," Danni agreed, "I'm glad Luke's got Reynolds beside him though; I'll need to get back to the girls. They're…doing better but I didn't want to leave them; they're really still very shaken up. They want their daddy home."

"I'm glad they're doing better, Danni," Gail said softly, "Those poor little girls. I can't imagine what they went through. But with you as their mother and Luke as their father, they're both incredibly strong."

"They are that," Danni chuckled, looking at Luke who was just staring at Danni in utter awe, "Are you okay?"

"You ve'y p'etty," Luke said, smiling as he lifted their joined hands and placed them over the blanket where his crotch would be, "'ove you."

Danni smiled thinly, squeezing his crotch through the blanket which seemed to be enough to lull him to sleep. She then stroked his arm and tucked him into his bedsheets, "I'm so sorry about him, girls. He's hopeless with drugs."

"That's okay," Phoebe laughed, "He's oddly adorable."

"He can be when he tries," Danni smiled sadly, stroking his shoulder before looking up as a doctor came in.

Gail turned round and caught her breath as the older lady looked directly into her eyes.

"Mrs Taylor?" she asked curiously, her face unreadable. Gail searched for any sort of clue as to whether she was about to receive good news or devastating news but the doctor was so deadpan. Gail couldn't read her and that made her want to cry, her stomach dropping with grief and hopelessness.

"Yes," Gail said softly, licking her lips, "I'm Gail Taylor. I'm Jason Taylor's wife. I think he was at the lodge shooting."

"Mrs Taylor, I'm Doctor Janis," the woman said in that horrible monotone voice, "I've been working on your husband, Mr Taylor," she said then looked around at Danni and Phoebe, "Could I speak with you in private?"

Gail took a deep, steadying breath, feeling Phoebe squeeze her shoulder.

"Of course, Doctor," Gail said tightly, smiling and looking down at the injured Luke, then Danni before finally looking at Phoebe, "I'll be right back, sweetie," she promised, thumbing Phoebe's tears before following Doctor Janis from the room and out into the hall.

She led Gail to an unused consultant room, closing the door before nodding at one of the many blue cushioned seats for Gail to choose from.

Why was it always blue seats? Gail wondered as she was seated.

Was it just standard practice in hospital design?

Maybe blue was a cool and calming colour so when bad news like 'your husband was shot dead' was being delivered the colour blue would keep emotions contained?

Gail wished the seats were yellow; more happy and uplifting. The blue just didn't work for her-

She stopped trying to distract her mind with chairs and turned to look at Doctor Janis, "So," she said and smiled, wiping her eyes and pointing at her bald head, "lets hear your application for the worst news Gail Taylor's had this year."

Janis frowned, "Mrs Taylor, I don't know what you think I was going to tell you but Mr Taylor is alive."

"He's…"

"Yes, Mrs Taylor, your husband is alive," Janis said with little to no uplift in her voice. She really had horrific people skills, Gail thought, feeling the room begin to blur and blacken around her vision, "He's waking up after surgery, if you want to see him?"

"I…he…"

Gail didn't know how it happened but she was smacked by a wave of sudden light-headedness which saw her sway and fall forward from her ridiculous blue-not-yellow hospital chair, completely blacking out…

.

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **Preston Royal infirmary,**

 **Victoria bc,**

 **Canada,**

.

Ana didn't know what was worse;

 _The fact that her son was in a medical coma._

 _The fact that he'd internal bleeding._

 _The fact that all that was keeping his lungs going was sme horrific machine jammed down his throat._

 _The fact that that his doctor kept using the words 'Sceptic shock' over and over again._

She wanted to cry. She wanted her husband beside her. She wanted her dear friends, who were under lockdown by the security team for their own safety. She wanted Ray so badly. She wanted Jason Taylor. She wanted Gail Taylor. She even wanted Carla.

The doctor let her stand in silence and process all she'd been told, looking over Teddy's body as he lay hooked up to every single contraption in the hospital. Her Teddy Bear. Her cuddly, beautiful copper haired boy.

There were no tears, however, she just couldn't produce them like she needed to.

The man –because this was not a boy in front of her- looked nothing like her son. He was topless, his chest naked bar the pipes and wires keeping him alive, and Ana was able to see Teddy's adult body closely for the first time.

He wasn't built like Christian, not really. Christian was lean and well defined through hours of Marine-esc training with Taylor. Christian was basically hairless too with only a dash of chest hair and a snail trail. This man in front of Ana was broad and all shoulders with a little bit of podge around his chest. He did have the slight traces of a sixpack, however, though it needed work to be more pronounced. He was hairy, however, though his bodyhair was a lot darker than one would expect considering he was naturally copper haired up top. The bodyhair expanded from the top of his chest and branched out across the entirety of his trunk.

Christian had the smallest of burn marks marring his chest, this man had what looked like self-inflicted scores across his upper shoulders and arms, concealable under a t-shirt.

This man had a clean shaven scalp which made him look nearly bald, much like Gail looked at the moment, and to contrast his skin head he'd grown a stubbly copper beard.

"…" Ana opened her mouth to speak but only air came out, words still completely evading her. This was her son, this was her Teddy bear.

"Do you understand what I've told you, ma'am?" the doctor asked softly but firmly. It was important Ana understood the complications of Teddy's injury.

"Yes," Ana eventually said though it was a complete barefaced lie; she didn't understand anything right now. Teddy had been shot, in the stomach, at close range. The doctor had said gastrointestinal perforation, about repairing a leak, about X-rays and CT scans, anatomical problems, peritonitis, stool, have digested food, poisons, sceptic shock.

Sceptic Shock.

It was perhaps the only thing Ana truly understood and it made her feel sick as she looked down at her son and tried to comprehend the battle he could face. As if the bullet in the gut wasn't agonising, the aftershock to his injury could potentially kill him. He was not well, and he wouldn't be out of danger for a while.

"You can sit with him, Mrs Grey," the doctor encouraged, nodding at the seat beside Teddy's bed.

"Oh, thank you," Ana mumbled, but she couldn't move from where she was stood; she didn't feel like her legs were her own, "I'd rather stand," she said, her hands gripping the rail of Teddy's bedframe as she continued just to stare at her adult son and try so hard to decide where they'd lost their son.

He'd been the perfect child until Stephen had died, both her children had been. They would spend every moment they could together, Ana deciding to work from home just to be with her children and to spend time with them as they grew. She remembered fun Friday nights when she and Teddy would bake cupcakes for the family, mommy-son trips especially to the museum for that precious one-on-one time children needed. She could honestly say Ted and Pheebs were her best friends when they were younger.

Stephen's death had seen Ana plunge into a depression which even now she found herself struggle to engage in life experiences. She'd been ill for the remainder of the kids' lives and, whereas Phoebe had been relatively unaffected by Stephen's traumatic death, so had Teddy. Her son was just as much a mess as she was, diagnosed with PTSD by his child psychologist. Christian had had to step up and become a lot more hands on with his family to assist his wife, organising a senior board for GEH so he could be at home more.

' _Ana, I'm your husband and I'm their dad. This comes with the territory. Don't feel guilty because I'm not the big boss any more. I'd give the whole company up to be here for you guys. You're my priority and I love you all,_ ' Christian said repeatedly on Ana's darkest days when she was overwhelmingly guilty for her fatigue and lack of energy. But his presence was a bright light in their household and Teddy loved having Christian around more, the pair's already strong bond intensifying beyond that of a traditional father and son relationship. Christian became Teddy's rock, and Ana's and Phoebe's.

Christian Grey was a lifeline to them all during that dark time, an irony which wasn't lost on anyone considering Christian's own demons.

She'd a good husband and she'd a wonderful daughter and supportive staff members and friends. They understood Ana wasn't well and did everything they could for her family, especially for Teddy.

The minute puberty hit him, however, he'd spiralled out of control and no one could get through to him, not his 'best pal' Sawyer, not his father; he hated them all. He blamed Jason for being incompetent and failing to save his best friend, he loathed Ana for not being able to help him like she desperately wanted to do, he hated Phoebe for sticking up for their mom all the time, and he despised his dad for trying to reign him in as best he could.

"If I was stronger, he wouldn't be here," Ana mumbled, looking down at her boy in utter anguish.

If she'd been stronger, if she'd gotten over witnessing the death of a child, she'd have been mentally well enough to support her own son and be there for him. It wasn't Christian's job to have been the one to kiss his pain away; that was her responsibility as a mother.

Flynn insisted it was natural to experience depression and PTSD after seeing Stephen choke to death, but that didn't make her feel any less guilty. If anything, it upset her more and made it even harder to get out of bed.

"He'll be unconscious for a while, Mrs Grey," the doctor insisted, "We need him to rest and conserve his energy for the possible fight ahead."

"Okay," Ana whispered and slowly reached out to touch her son's toes; they were perhaps the only part of his body that didn't have a drip, wire or pipe coming out of it, "Can I still speak to him?"

"Of course," the doctor nodded, "I'll be back in five minutes, Mrs Grey, if you want to sit with him for a short while."

Ana nodded and let the doctor leave before giving Teddy's toe a squeeze, "Mommy's here, baby," she cooed, "I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner, Teddy. I love you so much. I need you to fight, Ted. I mean it; I need you to fight this and persevere; I can't lose you," she croaked and finally the tears began pouring from her eyes after weeks of keeping strong for Phoebe and the sick Gail, "Teddy, don't leave us. Please, you can do this. We're all here for you. I love you so much, Teddy, you're my best pal. Please, come back to us…"


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty One.**

 **.**

 **Two hours later,**

 **Preston Royal infirmary,**

 **Victoria bc,**

 **Canada,**

.

It was incredibly early in the morning, the clock barely past two, but Ana needed to speak to Gail and Phoebe. She needed support. She walked down the corridor with Stonehouse, Thompson with her daughter and Gail. Usually she'd try and strike up a conversation with the security workers but she was just so numb. Stonehouse had said nothing as they walked but he did pull off his jumper and give it to Ana, breaking Christian's security protocol and draping his arm around Ana's waist to bring her in tight against his hard muscular side.

There was nothing sexual, it was merely comfort and warmth and Ana found herself stopping and turning into Stonehouse's chest and letting him wrap his arms around her.

"Shhhh," he mumbled, rubbing her back, "It's going to be okay."

"Sceptic Shock. He could go into Sceptic Shock," Ana moaned, still unable to cry like her body desperately wanted.

"He's in the best care, Mrs-Ana," Stonehouse promised, "They know what to look for, they know how to help him. Come on. You're stronger than this."

"I don't think I am," Ana laughed, just letting Stonehouse hug her for a moment longer.

"Ana?" someone called behind her, Ana recognising the Welsh accent as Thompson, their other security guard.

"She's okay," Stonehouse said for her, "Are Phoebe and Gail in that room?"

"Yeah we're just waiting on you guys," Thompson explained, "I was just waiting on you coming actually. Gail fainted earlier. Turns out she's not had anything to eat so I'm off to find something for everyone."

"Where were you going for food?" Stonehouse asked curiously and Ana could hear the man's own stomach growl from this close vicinity.

"There's a 24 hour McDonalds round the block," Thompson answered, looking at his watch, "Can I get you both anything?"

Ana looked over at Thompson and nodded, "Could you get me a McChicken Sandwich? Medium fries and a cola."

She was not hungry in the slightest but Stonehouse was right; she was stronger than this so she needed to start acting it. And that meant eating a substantial amount of calories to see her through the night. If Christian were here he'd have an aneurism if he thought everyone he loved and cared for were hungry. Food was a necessity. She couldn't sit beside her son and husband and wilt. Phoebe and Gail needed her just as much as she needed them.

As it stood just now, Teddy and Christian were alive. Christian was stable but Teddy was critical. Ana had to focus on that and find the ability to fuel her body before she could truly be of help to her boys. Not eating was selfish, she had to focus on remaining healthy.

Thompson nodded and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket as well as a pen, adding Ana's order to the extensive list he appeared to have already written. Ana realised then that he must have spoken to Danni and Craig and Mei also about eating and was intending to bring a large quantity of food into the hospital.

Was bringing takeaway into a hospital even allowed? Seemed ironic having a McDonalds in the place where people with strokes, heart attacks and diabetes came for life saving operations.

"You got any money on you, Sam?" Thompson asked Stonehouse then, "I don't think I'm going to have enough cash on me; Craig's the only other person with cash."

"Just take my credit card then; my treat," Stonehouse said, taking one arm from Ana and digging his tattered black leather wallet from his back pocket, "Can you get me two large fries, a double cheese with no pickles and some chicken nuggets? A nine pack."

"Greedy bastard," Thompson laughed, handing Stonehouse a large amount of change and notes, much to his displeasure. "Drink?"

"I'll grab a coffee from the machine," Stonehouse shrugged, cramming all the loose change into his wallet and making it swell. He went back to rubbing Ana's back comfortingly as Thompson wrote down Stonehouse's pin number, "Quick as you can though, Thompson; I'm starving."

"No worries. If you're here now I'll go get grub," the Welshman smiled, nodding at Ana and squeezing her shoulder comfortingly as he passed on his quest to smuggle in the Antichrist of takeaway.

And that was how Ana found herself sat in a crowded room, surrounded by loved ones, eating McDonalds as though no one they cared for had never been caught out in the shooting. Reynolds was eating a hamburger on Gail's bed, sat between Gail herself and his husband, both tucking into fish fillets. Danni had opted for a spicy piri-piri chicken wrap which she was eating perched on the sink counter quite happily, Mei and Phoebe on the floor with their own meals. Ana had obtained one of the free seats for her own dinner, Stonehouse and Thompson getting the other two. Welch and his wife Moira joined them, dragging two random chairs from outside in the hallway to sit in.

They spoke about the men, sharing what they knew with each other as they attempted to piece together what had happened.

It was incredibly difficult to swallow food and pretend that everything was fine…but it was morbidly lovely, Ana thought. She was devastated and agonised over her husband and son's health but Gail was just as distraught, and Craig and Mei and Danni and Moira. Everyone in the room, eating a McDonalds, had been effected differently by the shooting and sitting with them all now made Ana feel ever so slightly better. She wasn't alone; these people understood her thoughts and feelings and sat in solidarity together pledging their love to each other by just sitting and eating dinner.

It was both the worst and best takeaway she'd ever experienced.

"I'm going to see Jason soon," Gail said as she dipped her fish into her tartar sauce dip, "The doctors wanted me to relax first; the last thing Jason needs is to see me collapse in front of him."

"Is he waking up?" Danni asked hopefully.

"The doctor said he was groggy but conscious," Gail nodded, "He's under a lot of sedation so chances are he wont be awake but still I was wilting. It's amazing what a McDonalds can do," she joked, "I feel so much better."

"We should really have made a point of eating before now," Craig mused, "My blood sugars were so low I could have gone into a hypo."

"You're diabetic?" Phoebe asked curiously, munching on her fries.

"Type one," Reynolds answered for his husband, shaking his bruised head, "Idiot had to ask the nurse for a testing kit."

"I thought you were dying," Craig laughed, looking at his husband with a wide smile, "I forgot everything at our safe house and sped here. In fact, I'm expecting a lot of speeding tickets too which you will be paying off for me."

"Idiot," Reynolds repeated, the pair sharing a playful look before turning back to their food, "How is Mr Grey?" Reynolds asked Ana, looking a lot better now that he'd had time with his husband and daughter.

"Christian," Ana said firmly, because right now he was not their boss. He was their friend and would need their support, "is doing well considering. He's got second degree burns to his face but they'll heal on their own time. He's possibly going to have a bit of pigmentation scarring but that's about it."

"He's going to look like Two-Face from Batman," Phoebe pointed out, Ana smiling softly, "It'll give him an edgier look for breaking into politics though; his PR team will love it."

"True," Ana chuckled, knowing her husband well. He'd a remarkable talent in turning negatives into positives; he'd use his injuries somehow to better himself, he always was. Throughout his life his experiences have always shaped him to be the most remarkable man in the world to Ana. Only her husband would survive a horrific childhood and go one to feed the third world.

"How's his arm?" Welch asked, Reynolds looking over again too.

"Bad," Ana admitted, "He'll need a skin graft once he's strong enough and eventually he'll require some sort of therapy to get his arm working again…but otherwise he'll be okay I'm sure. It could have been so much worse. I heard about Jackson."

Welch paled at the mention of Jackson, looked at the floor then shook his head and got up. He kept his face down as he walked slowly towards the wall and stood to compose himself.

"Jackson was a good man," Moira Welch said softly, "His wife…she's broken. Richard had to call her and tell her over the phone; the shooting is global news now," she added, looking at her husband thoughtfully, "Are you okay?"

"No, I need a minute," Welch said, turning round and forcing a smile, his eyes red and watery, "I needa smoke."

"Want me to come with you, Richard?" Moira asked, looking up at him.

She was the polar opposite to her husband, Ana thought. Whereas Welch was in reasonable shape, confident in his abilities and relatively attractive, Moira was a bigger woman and older looking with grey short hair and thick lensed glasses. She was incredibly kind, however, and had a homeliness which reminded Ana of Gail.

Maybe Welch, like Taylor, wanted to come home to a woman who would cuddle him rather than rock his world in the bedroom like Luke openly admitted to before he married Danni. Not that Ana imagined Welch and Taylor had bland sex lives, she just reckoned that given their choice in wives that they were looking for more than stripper aerobics like Sawyer did.

"Nah, it's cold outside. You stay here," Welch smiled thinly and left, closing the door behind him.

"I'm so sorry, Moira, I never realised…I never should have mentioned Jackson," Ana said apologetically.

"Mrs Grey, it's fine. Jackson's dead. Nothing's going to change that," Moira said with a kind smile, "He's upset because Jackson was a good man who should have been home. He shouldn't have said yes to doing Welch and Taylor 'a favour'. He's guilty," she concluded, "It's not his fault though; both Jackson and Callum knew the risks."

"How is Callum?" Reynolds asked Moira then.

"He's completely fine," Moira smiled, "He's worn out so he's at our hotel sleeping off the fire fight and then he'll probably come down to see everyone."

"Good," Ana nodded, "I'd love to meet Callum and thank him personally."

"I'm sure you'll get the chance," Moira nodded, taking a bite of her burger next.

They all fell into silence, thoughts of Jackson's death and his devastated wife hanging over them. It could so easily have been one of their men who'd died and that thought made Ana regret her dinner. Still, she made a point of finishing every last molecule of Mcdonalds, imagining what Christian would say if he saw her eating, finally, during a family crisis. He'd probably have a stroke; Ana never ate when the going was tough.

 **.**

Welch returned fifteen minutes later, bringing everyone coffee and tea and a selection of sugars and milk sachets. He looked apologetic, Gail thought, watching as he slowly lowered himself down beside his wife and leant on her shoulder for comfort. Losing a team mate was hard, Gail knew that all too well being in a relationship with a Marine Sergeant. Jason often spoke about his squad, and Gail could see how each death took away a bit of his own soul.

Gail finished stirring her latte and lifted the cup to her lips when Jason's doctor appeared at the door. Janis pulled a face as she no doubt smelt the group's takeaway, spotting Stonehouse finishing up his chicken nuggets in the offending branded box. She didn't seem placed that, of all the food they could be eating, they'd brought in McDonalds.

"Is Jason okay?" Gail asked instantly, sitting up straighter and looking at Janis with worry. The woman was an old school doctor, out of place in the flowery hospital, but Gail knew her husband would rather someone old school.

"He's waking up," Janis said, the entire room gasping and sitting forward with wide faces.

Gail felt Craig squeeze her knee comfortingly whilst Reynolds started to cry again. He dropped his head into his bruised hands and sobbed in relief, Moira coming over and holding the broken man whilst Craig tried to bring Gail out of her trance; Jason was waking up.

Danni punched the air and cheered in a very Sawyer way, 'Fucking yes!'

Ana was clapping her excitement, Welch slumping back into his seat in relief whilst Mei tried to comfort Phoebe who'd broken down into floods of tears.

"Is…can I…Is he well enough for visitors?" Gail asked, wiping her eyes and composing herself.

"He's asking for you," the Doctor said, "I would ask that we don't flood him with visitors just yet; maybe one at a time. Let him process things; he's groggy from the surgery on his arm and he's lost a lot of blood.

Gail nodded and stood, putting her coffee down on the bedside table. She smoothed down her clothes and went to sort her hair out of instinct…forgetting she had a buzzcut now and a healing wound on her skull.

"Okay, well, we better not keep him waiting," Gail smiled, trying to remain calm when internally she was doing backflips. She knew to be respectful considering Christian and Teddy were still poorly; it wasn't fair on Ana if Gail started to do the conga.

"Gail?" Phoebe called as she also stood from the floor.

The poor little Grey looked wrecked; everything was catching up with her. She was strong, her father's daughter, but she was young and this was too much for someone so young to contend with. The relief she was feeling was just too much and her emotions had bubbled over.

Gail instinctively wrapped her arms around Phoebe's slim body, stroking the back of her head, "He's okay, Phoebe," she cooed, knowing that Phoebe and Jason had a special relationship. Phoebe was Jason's surrogate Sophie, having missed his own daughter's growth, whilst Phoebe had a best friend and confidante in Jason, "Tay's going to be okay."

"Tay," Phoebe laughed, pulling back and looking at Gail, "Can you give him this for me?" she asked, opening her purse and pulling a photo from within it. It was ripped and tattered, taken before the availability of digital cameras Gail expected, "I took them from Escala, after Ryan was shot."

"Phoebe," Ana frowned and walked over too, staring into her daughter's purse, "You can't just take family photos."

"I have one for dad too. And Ted," Phoebe defended, handing Gail the photo from her father's office; a small 6x4 she'd folded up. It was of Jason and Christian, Gail's husband holding Phoebe's chubby hands as she stood on her podgy legs, trying to walk towards her father with Jason's help. It was a moment Gail remembered seeing; the family had decided to spend Phoebe's first Christmas in Escala after the boiler packed in at the main house. Mr Grey must have decided to have the photo printed and framed for his Escala office.

Ana didn't look too happy to see that her daughter had folded precious family moments like she had, but reluctantly she sighed and hugged her daughter, "We'll get to see dad soon when he's stronger, Phoebe, and you can give him his. And give Ted one too. They'll love it."

"Thanks mom," Phoebe sighed, cuddling into Ana before looking at Gail, "Tell Taylor we miss him."

"I will, Phoebe," Gail promised, rubbing her back before going with Janis to meet her husband at last.

He'd his own room for the time being.

Gail followed Doctor Janis to her husband's side, her breath hitching in her throat when she first laid eyes on him. He looked exhausted and oddly frail, his face bruised and beaten up with a couple of painful looking cuts taped together around his eye and cheek. His hair was, as always, cut short within an inch of its life; the buzzcut was Jason's most recognisable characteristic. It always looked tidy and neat, something he'd done since his military days.

His arm was set in a cast of some sort and it looked bad but Gail had expected that so it wasn't a complete shock. As they'd walked towards his door, Janis had recited to her the list of injuries he'd sustained. His upper arm bone was shattered and needed surgery to sort, but the pressing medical complaint was that the break had effected an artery and resulted in a lot of blood loss. Gail had tried to take in all that was said but she was too excited to see her husband to comprehend the jargon Janis was using.

Jason rolled his head ever so slightly towards the door when he heard Gail's footsteps approaching his bedside.

"Hello, Sailor," she called softly, walking over to her husband and slowly stroking his cheek, "You're awake."

Janis left to give Gail and Jason a moment of privacy, closing the door behind her and cocooning the Taylors in their own little world free of the noises of the busy hospital.

Jason studied her with those brilliant bright blue eyes, watching her curiously as she approached him. His lids were heavy as he came round from the anaesthetic, but he was coherent and followed her every step as she came to sit beside him.

He looked...okay, Gail thought. He was beaten up and bruised but the worst injury she could see was his arm. But he was alive and conscious and aware of her in his environment.

She cleared her throat to speak but he bet her to it.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked with a raspy, husky voice, "The tumour?"

Gail's eyes watered and her lips became tight with emotion. He was the one in hospital now but it was her health that concerned him the most. "The tumour was benign and they believe they got it all," she added and wiped her eyes, "We're all clear, Jason, they think we're all clear."

"...Gail," Jason mumbled, his eyes filling with tears also as he lifted his good arm and held it out to her, "Oh God, Gail."

"How are you holding up?" Gail asked as she took his hand and let him stroke her cheek, feeling his thumb wiping away her tears. It felt so good to feel his touch again, she'd missed his delicate caress.

"A million times better now," He laughed softly, staring at her as though she were his most beloved thing in existence. He closed his eyes and let out the longest sigh possible, Gail physically able to see the weight of the universe leaving his shoulders as he completely relaxed for perhaps the first time since the doctor pointed the tumour out to them in the consultant room in Seattle.

When he spoke to her, Gail noticed that Jason had had a few teeth knocked out and, on closer inspection, she noticed that his neck was stitched where a thin but deep wound appeared to be present. As though someone had tried to strangle him with a wire and cut through his flesh in the process. That thought made Gail queasy and Jason obviously felt the shift in her energy as he tucked his head down to try and mask the wound.

"I like your hair. You suit a buzzcut," Jason attempted to joke and lighten her mood. His good hand squeezed hers and he fixed her with a soft, tired smile. His eyes were drooping and Gail realised he was almost asleep holding her hand, "Make it permanent and it'll save us a fortune at the hair dressers."

"You think?" Gail laughed, "We've become That Couple. You know the one who matches each other?"

" _His and Her_ haircuts," Jason laughed weakly, his voice sounding raw and croaky and sore despite his soft smile. "You're just copying my style, Mrs Taylor," he added, then winked, "Am I not getting a kiss?"

Gail wiped her eyes and sat up, leaning over his bed and gently pressing her lips to his for a short but sweet and very much needed kiss. He deepened it momentarily and Gail found herself welcoming it, slowly stroking his jaw.

When they parted, she fixed him with a smile as he ran his hand over her own buzzcut, careful of her own healing wound, "It's weird kissing you and not getting hair in my mouth," he joked, Gail's long hair often getting in the way at the worst possible moments, "I rather liked it."

She sat back on his bed, careful of his arm as she ran her fingers up and down his chest suggestively, "I suppose having short hair means you'll stop getting cum in it from now on too," Gail mused playfully.

Jason's tired eyes suddenly widened and his pale face blushed red. He was looking directly behind her and Gail just knew someone had walked in without her knowing.

"Ah, Gail?" Jason coughed, nodding. Reluctantly, Gail slowly turned her head back and spotted Ana and Danni. Ana was staring at the floor, cheeks bright red with a laughing smile on her lips whilst Danni was smirking in a very Sawyer-like way.

"Oh... Well shit." Gail mused, shaking her head and waving at the women.

Ana opened her mouth to speak but closed it just as quickly.

"We were told by Doctor Janis that we could pop our head in and say 'hi' before going to see Luke off for surgery," Danni explained, "He's getting his jaw wired shut."

"You finally had enough of his prattling on?" Jason said, making what must have been the fiftieth joke about poor Luke's smart mouth.

"If I'd known whacking his jaw was enough to impair his speech for a few weeks I'd have taken up baseball," Danni joked, walking past Ana and kissing Jason's forehead, "Glad you made it, Taylor."

"Thanks, Danni. Tell Luke I'm thinking about him," Jason said as Danni walked away, leaving Ana staring at the floor awkwardly.

"Sorry we just walked in like that," she said firstly, rubbing her arm before looking up at Jason, "I'm glad you're okay too, Taylor."

"Thanks, ma'am," Jason said professionally, staring at Gail the entire time before slowly looking in Ana's direction, "I'm doing great. Tired and groggy, but great. The medication's making me a little woozy though," he admitted, Gail squeezing his hand. She noticed the doctor had left him a sick basin after Gail informed her that Jason didn't deal too well with most forms of opiates.

"I'm glad you're conscious at least," Ana smiled softly and Gail could see she'd tears in her eyes. She looked at Gail as if searching for permission to enter his immediate space which she gave Ana by getting off the bed and moving to the other side of her husband's bed. Ana came over only then and slowly hugged Jason, mindful of his battered body, "We missed you."

Gail laughed softly as Jason held on a little too longer than perhaps needed, all the security under Ana's girlish charm. She was young, pretty and innocent but most of all her vulnerability often reminded Jason of his little Sophie. Gosh, Gail couldn't wait to call Sophie and let her know in person that her father had come round. She was worried sick and trying to organise a flight home from rural Cambodia with her boyfriend but Gail had managed to combat the shit phone service and email his daughter to keep her updated.

' _Doc says dad okay. Will try and call later. Keep safe, Soph. love Gail xxxx'_

"Thank you for not killing Teddy," Ana cooed, wiping a few tears from her eyes as she sat back and looked at Jason closely, "Thank you for not giving up in him. I don't think I'll ever be able to pay you back."

"How's Christian?" Jason yawned.

"Good; he'll be back to his usual self soon enough," Ana promised.

"Lucky me," Jason joked, eyes going droopy again, "How is Teddy?" he then asked, rearranging himself in bed as his neck began bothering him. He was incredibly stiff and weak and Gail could tell he was maybe only sitting at about twenty percent of his usual strength. Despite the nausea and fatigue he was doing well to hold up a conversation.

"He's recovering too," Ana promised, a white lie that Jason, in his weakened state, didn't query her further on.

"Good, I'm glad," he smiled, "He saved my life," he added and with that thought, he was sleep in seconds and snoring softly.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty two.**

 **.**

 **A lifetime ago,**

 **Grey Mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle,**

 **.**

"Ana?" Christian called as he walked into their bedroom, closing the door behind him so that she didn't need to listen to Phoebe singing with Gail in the kitchen, "Hey, baby, how are you feeling?"

She couldn't even look at him today; the depression making the slightest movements a monumental effort for her. Just turning to look towards his voice was exhausting, but he was patient and he understood that this illness had a hold of his wife and would, eventually, be gone. When she'd feel better, Christian didn't know, but he'd stand by her side loyally to support her until she was well enough to stand alone once more.

He sat beside her and stroked her porcelain face, "Hey," he said again, smiling for her, "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Ana said, trying her best to smile and reassure him that she was alright, "How are the kids?"

"Phoebe's baking cakes with Gail, actually," Christian smiled, "She wants to do yellow icing since yellow is 'a sunny colour' apparently and she wants you to get the biggest cake."

That made Ana smile more sincerely; the kids made her strong. She always made it down for dinner with them and she nearly always dried them after their baths and put them to bed with Christian. Sometimes she was too overwhelmed and would cry in the kitchen whilst Christian saw to their kids, but those days were a rarity. For the most part, she was just exhausted and guilty for being exhausted.

"How's Teddy?" Ana asked next, looking at Christian hopefully.

Christian never knew quite how to answer her, not wanting to make her worse and worry but also not wanting to lie to her. Stephen's death had rocked their son dramatically. The first few weeks he'd been fine, as though nothing had happened, but then puberty whacked him like a freight train and now he was truly an emotional mess. His anger knew no limits, his attitude towards school sucked, he'd no interest in family time, he lashed out at everyone including his young sister and he cried in his room a lot.

When Christian heard his son cry, it broke his heart and he tried everything to get Teddy to open the door so that he could comfort his boy. But, instead, Teddy would shout at him and had even began wedging his chest of drawers against the door to stop Christian trying to get in.

Which Christian understood.

Growing up angry and confused was horrible but it was made worse by people constantly pretending they could help. Carrick had tried with Christian, as had Grace and even Elliot at one point, but no one had been able to get through to Christian like Elena. As an adult, Flynn helped tremendously and so Christian had a multitude of different psychologists and therapists readily available to help Ted talk through his confusions but, typical Grey, Teddy wasn't a talker. He was a thinker and a do-er; conversations about feelings gave him the fear.

"Ted's Ted," Christian smiled at his wife, not exactly a lie but not very detailed in his account of their son, "He's in his room drawing I think. Sawyer picked him up from soccer earlier."

"Did he score?" Ana asked next, hope in her eyes.

"I think it was just training today," Christian admitted, kissing her forehead softly, "Did you take your medication?"

"Yeah," Ana nodded and smiled at Christian, "I did. Gail brought me them and a cup of tea."

"Good," Christian said and smiled, stroking her cheek, "You look beautiful. I better go and check on everyone. Gail and Taylor are having dinner with us again tonight."

"How's Taylor?" Ana asked then.

Another lie Christian had to make; the big man had taken Stephen's death personally. As head of security and safety, as their protector, he'd taken the failure hard.

"He's getting a sunshine cake too," Christian said softly, stroking Ana's cheek when her eyes watered, "It's going to be fine, baby. I'm here. And I'll be here for as long as you need. Okay?"

"Okay," Ana sniffled, looking at her husband with remorseful eyes, "I'm sorry I'm not stronger."

"You don't need to be stronger. You need to get better," Christian assured her and kissed her lips, "And you're doing great, baby. You're getting better every day."

 **.**

 **Present day…**

 **That morning,**

 **18** **th** **of October,**

 **Preston Royal infirmary,**

 **Victoria bc,**

 **Canada,**

.

Christian was screaming and Ana could do nothing but watch, behind the glass screen, unable to touch him or comfort him or even just stand beside him. Two nurses, the two from yesterday, were pulling off his bandages as delicately as they could but the pain in his arm must have been unbearable today. Ana could see that the bandages were yellow and wet and pulling little bits of watery flesh off of his weeping arm.

It was a mess.

The nurses, a man and woman, were covered from head to toe in protective gear, desperate to keep Christian's exposure to bacteria to the absolute minimum to ensure he didn't develop any nasty infections from his open wound. They looked terrifying, Ana thought, in what looked like yellow trash bags and blue hats, gloves and shoe covers. They did not look like your usual warm and welcoming nurses, the likes of which the others seemed to receive. Ana imagined that in his groggy, medicated state, they were confusing Christian and frightening him, causing him more panic.

"Mr Grey," the lady nurse tried, "I need you to try and stop screaming; you'll wake the other residents."

Ana couldn't really hear them but she could see the nurse holding her finger in front of her lips in a bid to shush her husband down, waving her hand around the room as though to remind him that he was not alone on this ward.

It didn't seem to work at all though, Christian sobbing and trying to lash out at the plastic bag monsters inflicting pain into his arm. Ana had told them before going in that touching Christian's chest was a trigger and not to be done if they could help it. It was therefore incredibly painful to watch the male nurse lay a hand, even delicately and softly, on Christian's chest to keep him on his back.

There were very few people who could touch his chest and not experience a violent repercussion; Ana and the kids, Gail, Jason and Sophie Taylor, Elliot and Ava, Mia and Grace. Everyone else, including his father and Kate, were likely to feel him flinch and recoil.

This nurse was trying, bless him, to calm Christian down and keep him still whilst his bandage was changed.

"Christian, it's okay," Ana was sure she saw the male nurse say, being a little forceful about ensuring Christian made eye contact with him and focused for more than a second on something other than his arm, "It's okay. We're just changing your bandages. Look at me, okay?"

Christian nodded and focused but then screamed again when the female nurse finished unwrapping his raw and weepy flesh. Ana was nearly sick at the sight; she had to look away and regain control of herself, swallowing hard through the queasiness. She was desperate to be by his side, desperate to be the one who try to comfort him, but until his wound was cleaned and covered she wasn't able to enter; the risk of infection was, apparently, too high. But she understood and respected that notion; Ted was already facing the possibility of septicaemia, she did not want Christian to experience the same fate.

Eventually she was able to control her rolling stomach and looked back up towards her husband. She jumped in shock, Christian staring at her, grey eyes wild with pain, confusion and fear. He focused on her longer than he had the nurse, his breathing ragged as the medics hurried to finish what they'd started.

 _Her lost boy looking for his comforter, his protector, his Ana._

"Ana?" he said, Ana able to read his lips well enough to know he was calling for her, "Ana?"

It broke her heart to watch him so distressed. Gently, Ana placed her hand on the glass and nodded towards him, smiling as brightly as she could to keep him calm and reassured that he was okay, he was alive, eventually the pain would subside –although she'd been reading burn victim stories and was worried for how long he would be in pain.

"It's okay," she mouthed, hoping he was calm enough to read her lips. She closed her eyes for a moment to hold back the tears which had suddenly sprung into her eyes. She remembered how tentative and supportive her beloved had been during her depression, religiously coming home to see her on his lunch breaks, playing father and mother to their children when Ana couldn't even muster the strength to leave her bed.

It was her turn now to repay the favour; her turn to support him through this horrible, painful experience, just as he'd done after Stephen's death.

"You're doing great, baby," Ana mouthed, rummaging in her handbag for her note pad and writing the words on the paper, using her eyeliner as a pen, "You're getting better every day. I love you."

Straining his eyes, he read the note, or at least he appeared to read the note because he smiled at last. It was brief and anguished but his lips curved into a smile for her and it made her heart swell.

Christian watched her a little longer before passing out, the male nurse appearing to administer his pain relief. Ana watched his eyes droop and the muscles in his face go lax as he gave himself over to the exhaustion caused by what had been an incredibly traumatic experience for him.

Oh Christian, Ana sighed, letting her tears fall now that her husband was at peace for a few minutes.

.

 **Later that afternoon…**

.

Luke was in a lot of pain when he roused and he scrunched up his face. His jaw was burning and he didn't understand why. Slowly he lifted an arm which felt far too heavy and went to grab a feel.

"Gail, stop him," Danni called from somewhere and Luke felt someone's hand touch his, "Baby, it's okay, you're in hospital."

He opened his eyes and squinted against the bright light of the stupidly clean white wash ceiling and groaned, "Nnnnnnnurgh."

He couldn't speak; his jaw hurt too fucking much to move.

 _Where was he?_

 _Who the fuck was stroking his thigh?_

 _Why was he drowsy?_

 _What was Gail doing here?!_

"Luke, can you focus on me?" Danni said and Luke saw his beautiful, sexy wife out in his peripheral vision, stood at the other side of his bed, "Don't panic, baby, you're just out of surgery. The Doctors have tried to realign your jaw. Remember, you broke it in a couple of places?"

Had he?

Luke frowned and tried to remember how the fuck he'd managed to break his motherfucking jaw. Had someone finally had enough of his smart ass jokes and cracked him with a bat?

 _I bet Jason did it_ , he thought, winking at Danni to let her know he understood her, _Probably punched him for taking Grey into Slick's club come priso-_

Slick. Luke suddenly remembered with a sickening wave of nausea. Jason and Teddy. The grenade to the roof. Landing face first on a blunt rock. Cracking his jaw. Gunshots and eventually the mounties. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

He slowly sat up. Oddly enough now that he remembered exactly what was causing the pain he felt less panicked and, therefore, less pained. It was a weird to explain, but knowing that he didn't have all his teeth missing or no jaw at all made him feel ever so slightly better.

Stood around his bed with welcoming smiles were Danni, Gail, Craig, Ana and Phoebe. Reynolds was looking on from a bed beside Luke's, the bald CIA bastard covered in plaster cast and bruises. He'd a ginger beard too which looked hilarious, but it hurt to try and smile. Sat beside him was his daughter, Mei, who was holding his hand protectively.

"Hey, Hotty," Craig whistled and Luke winked at him, the gay man the one stroking his thigh. Luke grabbed his hand and slowly pulled it up towards his crotch before Danni punched his shoulder.

Ouch!

He scowled at her and attempted to pout but there wasn't much he could honestly do or say besides winking; everything was swollen and unusual.

"You kept asking people to suck your dick," Danni explained, feisty as always. Luke hoped his eyes showed he was smiling at her. She took his hand from Craig's and gave it a squeeze, "Your surgery went well though. You'll need your jaw closed for a while just to make sure everything heals as well as possible."

"'shun?" Luke said.

The faces around him were blank and confused.

"A'shun?" he repeated, wincing at how sore trying to communicate felt, even under morphine.

"You want a raison?" Craig frowned.

"No. A'shun." Luke mumbled, pointing at Gail, "A'shun?"

"Jason?" Gail guessed and Luke nodded excitedly then remembered his jaw and felt tears prickle his eyes at the pain the movement caused, "Jason's alright, Luke. He's exhausted but he's okay. So's Reynolds and Mr Grey and Welch has already discharged himself so he can begin dealing with the police."

Luke sighed with relief and then his eyes fell onto Ana, "Ed?"

"Ted's fine," Ana said softly which let Luke know that Teddy Grey was, absolutely, not fine. Luke didn't understand how woman seemed to think that saying 'fine' when it was anything but was a logical idea. It made no sense to him and Danni was the worst culprit for it.

However, Luke was sure that Ana would say if Teddy was dying, or already gone. Might as well tell Luke the bad news while he was still high on anaesthetic and pain relief, right? So Tedster was perhaps fine but critical?

"He was gut shot," Reynolds said and Luke's heart sunk.

Fuck sake, that was a tough one to try and fight back from. The problem with gutshots was that they opened your organs and spilled shit and poison internally. Once the hole gets plug there's nothing to say that a person doesn't die of infection regardless. It was the worst way to go, Luke was dead certain. He'd seen his fair share of gut wounds. They were the messiest and the most painful.

"He's doing fine though," brave Phoebe insisted, squeezing Luke's kneecap, "Everyone's doing fine. It's good to have you back with us, Sawyer."

Luke smiled at Phoebe then carefully rolled over to look at his beautiful, feisty, 'don't fuck with me' wife. He didn't know when he closed his eyes and dozed off but he briefly heard the sound of the door as a proportion of his guests left to visit the rest of the walking wounded.

Danni stayed, Luke was sure, because he could smell her familiar perfume; Black Opium, and he felt rest her feet on the bottom of his bed. Craig and Mei were talking to Reynolds in hushed tones in the bed next to Luke's which was oddly comforting; their talking blocked out the sound of the machinery beeping around him.

.

 **Later that evening…**

.

"Hey dad," Phoebe smiled widely, Christian opening his grey eyes instantly and looking towards his daughter. Ana waved behind her back, a wide, excited smile spreading across Christian's lips.

"Nice to see you on this side for once," Christian commented with a slightly croaky and raw voice; the screaming earlier appeared to have cracked his vocal cords apparently. The nurses assured Ana that bandage change would get easier the more accustomed he got to the pain…but that still didn't seem fair to Ana.

"How are you feeling?" Ana asked her husband, her mouth covered by that ugly plastic mask. She hoped he could tell she was smiling. The doctors had explained to both she and Phoebe that the skin acts as a barrier to stop infection and bacteria getting into the body. As Christian's arm and shoulder were missing a large chunk of skin, he was susceptible and weak and so they were asked to cover up. They didn't perhaps need the mouth masks but Phoebe had insisted that they limit her father's exposure to germs as best they could, regardless of how stupid both she and her mother looked, dressed in massive colourful bin bags

"I'm not really feeling," Christian admitted, "I'm on some pain relief. It's a bit nippy but otherwise it's okay," he said, unable to stop the wide, toothy smile he was giving his girls, "I heard Teddy's alive."

"He's doing well, Christian," Ana assured, "We went and saw him briefly earlier. But he's in a coma right now."

Phoebe piped up, "He's still there though," she said, "I always remember Ryan saying how, when he was younger, a friend of his went into a coma and swears he heard his mother kissing his doctor."

"Wow, Phoebe," Christian chuckled, his burnt face looking better than it had yesterday. Whatever cream or ointment was being used appeared to be helping her husband immensely, "How's his stomach wound?"

"The surgery went well," Ana assured him, giving his good hand a tight squeeze, "He's a high infection risk right now so the doctors are really watching him closely. They're always doing tests and things on him but we do get a bit of alone time too."

"He's comfy," Phoebe added, "Gail bought him a feather pillow from the supermarket today. You know how grumpy he gets if he's sleeping on anything but goosefeather," Phoebe laughed and Ana saw her daughter's eyes well with tears; she was being so strong but seeing her brother earlier in such a vulnerable state had shocked her.

Like Ana, Phoebe had barely recognised Teddy. Instead, she also saw this buzzcut, hairy chested man lying with all sorts of machines and wires plugged in. She'd been nervous to get too close to him to start with but after watching Ana speaking to him, holding his hand, stroking his stubbly jaw, she'd approached and done the same. Tomorrow she intended to bring a radio so Teddy 'had something to listen to' since music was a massive passion of his.

"Teddy's a fighter; he's going to pull through," Christian said confidently, closing his eyes and sighing, "I wish I could go to him. He needs me."

"We need you," Ana said firmly, "Me, Phoebe and Teddy. I do not want you leaving this room and walking around when you're not well enough to fight off infections. After you get your skin graft and things have settled, then yes. But until then, please Christian, try and relax and focus on getting better."

"Teddy's not alone; he's got mom, me, Gail, Craig, Mei. Reynolds is visiting him tomorrow with Sawyer, if Luke's up to it," Phoebe insisted, "We're all working out a sort of 'rota' so that no one's ever alone for too long. You were asleep when Gail came to the window earlier to watch you for a bit."

"Gail's been here?" Christian frowned, "I thought she had a brain tumour."

"She's had the operation, Christian," Ana chuckled, "And she's had the all clear. She's wary still and exhausted but she's powering on. She has a pillow for you too but the nurses want to give it a good clean before they let it near you."

"Geeez," Christian whistled, shaking his head, "How's everyone?"

"Reynolds has a few broken bones," Phoebe said, "Welch has discharged himself already; apparently he's afraid of hospitals."

"Welch is afraid of hospitals. Huh," Christian chuckled.

"Luke's jaw got wired shut earlier. We were all there when he woke up," Ana said, taking over for her daughter.

"His jaw's wired shut?" Christian joked, "Lucky us; fucking smart mouth."

"You're the hundredth person to make that joke," Ana chuckled, "Teddy's fighting on and Taylor's doing alright; he's a lot of trauma to his arm and he lost a lot of blood. Gail said something about an artery being hit? I'm not honestly too sure; there's been so much medical jargon it's starting to fly over my head."

"I'm glad everyone's okay," Christian sighed then winced, "My arm's starting to hurt again. Is it time for me to get my next bout of pain relief?" he asked Ana curiously.

"I'll go find someone and ask," Ana said, nodding to Phoebe, "Will you stay here? Thompson's outside."

"Of course, mom," Phoebe smiled, taking over Ana and holding her father's hand.

Ana exited the room as quietly as she could, not wanting to disturb anyone else in the rooms around her husband. It was later that evening, after all. She spied one of Christian's doctors and told him that her husband was in pain and asking for a little more pain relief.

"Of course, Mrs Grey," the doctor smiled and followed Ana towards Christian's door once more. Ana was about to step inside when she spotted Gail walking towards them, looking concerned.

"I'll be back in a second," Ana told the doctor, walking towards Gail, "Are you okay, Gail? You look worried."

"I am a bit, Ana," Gail explained, "I cant find Jason."

Ana looked at Gail curiously, unsure what she meant. Surely Taylor wasn't walking yet? He'd need longer rest just to get over his blood loss at least. And even then, Ana didn't know how he'd be able to walk without pulling his painful arm. There were talks of physiotherapy for crying out loud.

"What do you mean?" Ana frowned, "Has he gone in for more surgery?"

"No," Gail insisted, "He's just…gone. The doctors don't know where he is at all either. They've got security looking for him in their cctv cameras. He'd mentioned coming to check on Mr Grey earlier when he was a little spaced out so I thought he'd maybe be up here with Mr Grey."

"No, he's not here. We've been with Christian for an hour now too. He's been awake for a little longer than that and hasn't mentioned seeing Jason; in fact he didn't know if Jason was alright until about ten minutes ago," Ana explained, watching Gail bite her lip worriedly.

Ana could see Gail was incredibly worried and a little lost on what to do. She turned to Christian and Phoebe, waving before pointing at the little housekeeper, "I'm going to help Gail. Both of you behave," she said firmly, hoping they understood what she'd said through the glass window. Christian waved, as did Phoebe, Ana mimicking and following Gail back down the corridor. She was stripping out of her protective clothing as she went, bundling it up.

"If he's not with Christian, do you think he went to find Ted?" Ana queried.

"Possibly," Gail nodded then winced, "But I'm not sure, Ana. I don't want to offend you but Jason hates Teddy. With a passion too. Unless they've recovered their friendship somewhere along the line, I can't see him volunteering to go to Ted."

"Well we can go and see," Ana smiled, not taking offence at all. Like Ana, Taylor had had a hard time getting over Stephen's death and Ted hadn't held back any punches in blaming their 'security chief' in allowing a child to die on their property. It had been a freak accident, calmer adult heads could see that, but Teddy's fiery temper had made him lash out at those he believed responsible and Taylor was absolutely top of that list.

They approached Teddy's room, nodding at the doctors who had become familiar faces to them. Slowly, Ana opened the door and felt Gail sigh in relief behind her.

"Oh thank god," Gail chuckled softly, closing the door behind her as both she and Ana approached the two men squashed together on the hospital bed.

Taylor was lying beside Teddy, crammed up on the corner of Ted's bed with his own iv drip still hooked into his good arm to the left of the bed. He was sound asleep too, Ana realised, snoring softly against Ted's neck, legs hanging over the bottom of the bed since Jason was just too blood big for an average queen sized bed.

"Oh Jason," Gail croaked, walking over to her husband and carefully laying her jacket over his bare chest, careful of his bad arm. He was laying on his side, pillowing his wounded arm under Teddy's goose feathered pillow to support it and stop him lying on the injury.

The feel of the coat fabric against his shoulders woke him and he looked over at Ana and Gail with exhausted, red eyes before going back to sleep with only a tiny little nod.

Ted's doctors would flip out, Ana thought, but they were so busy running around the hospital that they wouldn't notice how Teddy's facial expression had changed ever so slightly. Ana did, however. She could see how lax and...peaceful he suddenly looked. As if he were actually resting now and not fighting to regain consciousness.

"I'm so sorry," Gail apologised for her husband, looking at Ana, "I didn't think he'd come here like this. He can't lie next to Teddy like this. He could pull his equipment out in his sleep by accident."

"It's okay, Gail," Ana assured, nodding towards her son, "He knows someone's beside him. Look, you can see it in his eyebrows. He's relaxed."

Gail studied Teddy closely but perhaps didn't see the small details like Ana had, having been studying her son closely for hours to notice them herself.

"Let Jason sleep there if he wants. Ted knows he's there, I can tell," Ana assured Gail, "and if the doctors arent' happy they'll move him back to his own bed."

"Are you sure?" Gail pressed, looking so guilty.

"Of course," Ana insisted, "Don't worry about him being in here. If anything, he's comforting my son," she walked over to the bottom of Teddy's bed where a throw was draped across the bottom decoratively. She lifted it from under Jason's legs and unfolded it before removing Gail's jacket and tucking Taylor in beside Teddy.

He didn't so much as shift this time, in a complete state of sleep. Ana covered his chest, being mindful of his arm as well, then his bottom half before realising the blanket was too short for someone Jason's size; the man's massive bare feet were exposed to the chilly hospital room.

"How big are his feet?" Ana chuckled as she opened Teddy's hospital bag and rummaged for socks at least for Jason.

"A fourteen," Gail said and chuckled as she read Ana's mind.

"Lucky you, Mrs Taylor," Ana smirked, "My son takes after Christian I'm afraid; he's a size eleven. But these socks are really stretchy."

She gave them to Gail who dressed her husband's toes so he didn't catch a chill, Jason barely moving as she did so.

"Perfect," Ana sighed, smiling at the two buzzcut headed goons sharing a bed. If not for the fact that they were both unwell and in hospital, it would have made for an adorable photo, "I take it Taylor doesn't hate Teddy anymore?"

"Apparently not," Gail chuckled, wiping tears away as she watched the too as well, "I take it Teddy doesn't hate Jason anymore either?"

"I hope not," Ana nodded, "Dear god I hope Teddy doesn't hate us all anymore."


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter Thirty Three**

 **.**

 **.**

 **That Afternoon,**

 **19th of October,**

 **Preston Royal infirmary,**

 **Victoria bc,**

 **Canada**

.

"Hey Teddy, it's mom," Ana called, slowly taking her son's hand and stroking it softly, mindful of the IV drips attached on the back of his hand, "I hope you're feeling better, Sweetheart."

Teddy hadn't moved much in the last few hours. Shortly after finding Taylor, Ana and Gail had went back to Phoebe and Christian, said goodnight to her husband and then driven to the hotel the family were occupying close to the hospital. Their bodyguards, Thompson and Stonehouse were dutifully sleeping in their hotel living room sofa so that the ladies could have their own bedrooms. The hospital had security watching their families and the Canadian police had set up post outside Christian and Teddy's rooms, as was Ana's request.

Because Christian was an infection risk his visitation were being limited until he was strong enough to have his skin graph. It was annoying to Ana, because it meant that she or Phoebe or even Gail could only be beside Christian in person for a few hours spread out over the course of the day. But it was necessary to do so, Ana understood, it was just so damn frustrating to have to watch her husband through a glass window during bandage changes when all she wanted to do was comfort him and wipe away his tears.

The nurse had promised that they would get easier for Christian but today Ana had found herself weeping for her husband, Gail crying too as Christian screamed blue murder and cursed and tried to kick the nurses off of him. Nothing seemed to calm him, even when he looked over at Ana and watched her. The agony he was in as they tried to dress his arm was obvious even without his screaming; his grey eyes were absolutely wired.

The sooner he got his skin graft, the better; Ana was desperate to be by his side when he was so upset and distressed. She was adamant that Phoebe would never witness this; she didn't need to see her father at his weakest and she sure as hell knew that seeing Phoebe distressed would do nothing to calm Christian down.

Teddy didn't have such visiting time limitations in place; as long as the hospital staff knew they were in his room, they allowed to see him for as long as they wanted. But Teddy's doctor, as well as the nurses who they'd become friendly with, recommended that they get themselves into a routine where they visited Teddy during the times that Christian wasn't able to have visitors before going back to the hotel at ten to try and grab some sleep.

For Ana to continue to be strong, she knew she couldn't tire herself out at this point. No, right now was a waiting game. She needed to be well rested and well fed to be the support her family and friends needed. She couldn't remember the last time she'd managed to consume two thousand calories in one day but she was determined to continue doing so to be sure she was well fuelled.

The doctors had chucked Jason out of Teddy's room rather gruffly, apparently. They were furious that Jason had slept beside him and Gail had received a lecture on her husband's behalf about his behaviour. But it was a crying shame because Ana had seen how at peace Teddy had become with having Jason on his shoulder.

His eyebrows weren't pressed into a frown and the corners of his mouth around his breathing apparatus were slack and calm. He'd looked peaceful and relaxed.

Now he was back to looking tense and frightened almost. Maybe it was Ana's maternal instincts running ravage with her imagination but she was positive that her son wasn't comfortable now he was without Taylor.

"Hey sweetie, I said mommy's here," Ana cooed, watching him closely in case he twitched at the sound of her voice, "Your dad's doing well. They changed his bandages again and it was traumatic. Gail was with me this time; I couldn't do it alone. Watching your father in so much pain…it's harrowing. I've asked Phoebe to not be there when it's happening. I know your father, I know he'd not like either of you to see him so distraught and uncontrollable so she was here earlier. She brought you the radio actually," Ana said and stood, walking over to the small machine and turning it on for her boy.

She kept the volume on low, not wanting to upset any residents close to Ted. They'd picked up a rock channel which Ana hoped Teddy liked; she realised now that her son had never ever told her what sort of music he like and it was a devastating thought. Music was so important to her husband that not knowing their son's favourite bands and artists stung her. It was one of the many things Ana intended to learn when her son was strong enough.

"Ryan got your letter," Ana said next, rubbing Teddy's hand again, "He cried like a baby," she laughed, "He forgave you in a second. He loves you very, very much, and he can't wait till he's better and you're better so you guys can pick up where you left off. I always remember when you were five and Ryan brought over his bloody lego collection and the two of you sat for hours and built Grey House. Remember?"

Teddy didn't flinch, didn't twitch, but Ana was sure she noticed his eyebrows slacken again, "And then you both ran that weird super glue stuff over it and you gave it to Dad for Father's Day. Do you know Dad kept it? It's still in his office at work. In fact, he added to it and built a mini Charlie Tango to sit in front of it. And he's got a Lego Christian and a Lego Taylor too. It's in this glass box on display on the top floor."

She wiped her eyes and squeezed Teddy's hand, "You were such a clever little boy; you were always so good with your hands. It drove Gail wild because you'd come into the house with jam jars of….well, shit. I remember one time you brought about sixty pinecones into the house and left them on the table. I think you'd wanted to spray them gold and make Christmas bobbles for Granny Grace but you went to play with Stephen instead and poor Jason came through for a coffee to a table covered in spiders. They must have been living in the cones and scuttled out when you set them down. I just remember being in my office when I heard him scream."

Ana laughed hard and smiled through her tears, "Yes, that's right. He screamed and when I came through with Luke he was up on the kitchen bunker, pointing at the spiders with his goddamn gun. You dad came in from outside and I think he took Jason's photo. And then both your dad and Luke start scooping up these insects and throwing them at Taylor."

She closed her eyes and remembered the scene well, still laughing about it with her husband and Gail to this day. They'd thrown these skinny grey bugs at Jason and laughed as the 'Big Badass Marine' screamed and cursed them before opening the window and jumping out into the pool to get away.

"We used to have so much fun when everyone was younger. I used to love when dad would come home from work, I'd finish reading my last chapter and we'd take you and your sister for fries by the harbour. Sometimes we'd even have an icecream, but ultimately we'd just sit and watch the water together. You were both so ridiculously cute too; I could have just eaten you. And you were so good to Phoebe. You used to blow on her chicken nuggets when then were too hot. It's those memories that get me through the day sometimes; my beautiful family."

A nurse came in just then and smiled at Ana, making small talk as she checked Teddy's machinery and noted down his readings. She did so with a smile which was potentially reassuring; it perhaps meant that her baby boy was going to get better soon.

Or maybe that's wishful thinking on Ana's behalf.

"Last night, Mr Taylor came through and slept beside my son," Ana started.

"I know, I'm so sorry, Mrs Grey," the nurse apologised, "We wont let it happen again."

"No, that's just it," Ana said, "I want it to happen again. I could tell what effect it had on my son. Really. I know you all think I'm mad but I saw a change in him."

"Mrs Grey, sometimes in these situations you see things which aren't there," the nurse said softly, trying to be tactful, "It's such a desperate situation; are you sure you've not allowed yourself to see what you want to see?"

Ana frowned and looked at her son's still, lifeless face. Maybe she had imagined it all? Gail hadn't seen the difference, after all. Maybe it was the strain starting to catch up with her?

"I'm certain," Ana said firmly, "I really am. His eyebrows loosened and the air around him just felt better."

The nurse nodded and approached Teddy, fluffing his pillows for him and smiling, "I'll let the doctor know, Mrs Grey, but I don't think they'll let Mr Taylor repeat it," she said with a kind smile. It made Ana happy to be listened to, glad the nurse was going to speak to the doctors for Ted.

"If Mr Taylor wants to sleep in Ted's room, can that be arranged?" Ana asked, squeezing Teddy's hand.

"Not really, Mrs Grey," the nurse said, "There's assesments that would need done. And If Teddy were to take a bad turn, Mr Taylor would need to leave the room."

The nurse hurried along to her next patient on the ward, leaving Ana with her sickly son, "I might accidently leave your door open for Taylor, Ted. If you want him back, that is. I think you do."

Teddy didn't shift, didn't twitch.

Ana felt her eyes water and she quickly wiped them and forced a smile as she heard the unmistakeable footprints of Luke Sawyer. She turned towards the door and smiled widely, glad to see her bodyguard and dearest friend on his feet and walking.

His jaw looked incredibly painful and swollen and red; he looked somewhat deformed if Ana was being truthful. But his presence was an instant relief for Ana.

"Look, Teddy, Sawyer's here," Ana said to her son as Luke approached his bed and stroked Teddy's stubbly cheeks, "He's got a broken jaw so he can't really speak so well yet since it's still swollen."

"Hey Eddshtur," Luke said, trying to say 'Tedster'; the nickname which Luke rightfully gave him. Christian had been livid when the Security had started referring to Teddy as 'The Tedster', in fact he'd given Jason an absolute rimming for 'lack of professionalism'. When Elliot got 'The Tedster' printed on the back of a hockey jumper, Ana had thought Christian would go thermonuclear but he'd resigned himself to the nickname, though it was very bitter.

"I think he can hear us," Ana explained to Luke, getting up so he could have the comfortable seat. For once, he didn't object and slowly lowered himself down so that he didn't jar his jaw too much, "How are you?"

Luke gave the thumbs down gesture and Ana was sure she saw his eyes water. But Sawyer, like Taylor, didn't cry. It was something Danni had also said whilst they waited for Luke to come out of surgery. It was the SEAL in him; he was too macho.

But, to Ana, those looked like tears in his eyes.

"I heard Danni was leaving with Craig and Reynolds tonight," Ana said, Luke giving her the thumbs up, "Gail's not going anywhere soon I don't think, and neither am I. You're not alone up here."

Danni's daughters were with an unconnected friend. When She returned to Seattle, she and Eddie and Isla would move into Grey mansion where Welch had security arranged. Until things were resolved, everyone was to remain under protection. The news had received mixed opinions. Danni welcomed it, the girls were traumatised after being kidnapped and so she was looking forward to having a visible secure support network around them. Craig, however, just wanted to go home and be alone with his husband and daughter in privacy. It was all getting too much for Reynolds' husband; that was apparent. He was struggling not to shout and yell at anyone, keeping his temper only just in line.

Luke blinked at Ana and gave her the thumbs up again before looking at Teddy, "How ish 'e?"

"He's getting stronger," Ana told her bodyguard, "they've got him on all sorts or antibiotics I think to hold off any potential infection. I think he's going to be okay if he can make it through this next few days," she explained in as positive a tone as she could muster, "How are the girls?"

"'anni no tell," Luke tried to communicate, pointing at himself before gesturing a thumbs down, "No good."

"We'll get them through, Luke, I promise," Ana nodded, squeezing Luke's shoulder gently, "Flynn's already in place for them. The house still has the play room so little Isla can play, there's arts and crafts, Gail's Sausage Dogs and Taylor's bulldog will be there. It'll be so comfortable for them, Sawyer. It's such a good place for them to recover, away from the media."

Luke nodded slowly before looking directly into Ana's eyes with a stare which honestly frightened her.

Luke was an incredibly handsome man, there was no denying it. He'd fantastic bone structure, a wicked flirty grin and perfectly straight white teeth. His eyebrows were thick, the left one having a slight indent which made him look distinguished and tough. It was his eyes, however, which Ana found the most attractive; blue-green with long dark eyelashes. Katie flirted with Sawyer mercilessly, in front of Christian as well. Gail flirted with Sawyer too, and Ana had caught her Phoebe blush as her teenage hormones flurried around him. For Ana, she accepted that he was an eight out of ten, Christian a ten. Had it not been for the fact that she spent all her time beside her bodyguard she'd maybe rate him higher. But she saw him squeezing spots, farting in the car occasionally, blowing his nose. It made him more lovable to Ana, than sexy; he was one of her best friends.

But that lovely, friendly, bubbly Sawyer was gone in the moment. The gaze Ana was receiving was cold and unkind, deadly. If it were possible, his eyes grew greyer like some ommonous storm brewing along the horizon.

"Damen alive," Luke said as clearly as he could muster. Ana felt her heart squeeze as she thought about the man who had nearly killed her husband, her son, her friends…he'd gotten away and there was now an international manhunt, she was told, according to Welch.

Leaning forward towards Ana, Luke didn't drop that stealing, angry gaze and said with a clarity which haunted Ana; "I will _kill_ him."

.

 **That Evening,**

 **19th of October,**

 **Entering Seattle,**

 **Washington State,**

 **.**

He'd taken Reynolds car when word gotten out that both he and Mei would need to go to their designated Safe House. Craig was able to fit in his laptop, suitcase and Mei's instruments in the large Lexus. Driving now from the hospital to Christian Grey's home, the car was somewhat full. Reynolds was in the front beside him, sleeping off his medication. Behind them was Danni and Mei, who'd snuggled up against Mrs Sawyer to sleep too.

Gail had offered Craig and Reynolds use of the cottage, Danni and the girls moving into the main Grey house. It was lovely of her to offer, Craig thought, as it meant both he and Reynolds had some privacy away from the Sawyers. As much as he liked Danni, he was shocked about everything still and the state of his own husband without having to deal with two traumatised girls.

He would have rather gone to his own home where his family could start the healing process in private. Because nothing had been resolved, however, everyone was required to hunker down with protection. Welch had completely fortified Grey Mansion, rallying his spare employees and promising them six digit bonuses for every person who came to help.

It all seemed like overkill, Craig thought, driving himself, Reynolds, Mei and Danni back to Seattle. He really didn't want this, but Reynolds needed to be somewhere that he could relax and recover and going home wouldn't allow him to do so; he's be constantly concerned that they were under attack since Damen was unaccounted for.

Craig sighed and looked ahead; _Seattle in 30 miles_. He picked up his cold coffee and took a sip, checking on everyone in the mirrors.

Gail had offered the cottage but then instantly back peddled. It had been adorable and made Craig smile genuinely for the first time in what felt like forever.

" _I didn't clean out toilets_ ," she'd started, " _So I'm sorry if they're not very clean. I didn't pick up our laundry. There's a load of washing in the drum I'm sure. Oh god, I hope I remembered to wash all our dishes before everything hit the fan. I'm so sorry, Craig. The house will be a shambles. If I'd thought about it, I would have put fresh sheets down. Oh god, I've not put fresh sheets on. Shoot and the trash cans in the bathroom haven't been emptied in forever. Please don't judge us; we're usually clean people!_ "

She'd been panicking about the state she'd left it and was nervous about how messy her bedroom may potentially be, giving Craig very clear instructions on where to find fresh bedsheets with a million apologies that he was having to strip their bed for them.

" _It's fine, Gail. Everybody shits_ ," Craig had said to her when she fretted over nothing, something he remembered Reynolds telling him when they'd first started to date.

As a new, homosexual couple, they'd gone to California for a long weekend to a beautiful B&B where Craig had contracted Gastroenteritis and spent the whole time in the bathroom pissing out of his ass. Reynolds had been on hand with water and sickness tablets, resigning himself to an ill boyfriend for a weekend rather than a romantic few days with his first ever boyfriend.

' _It's fine, Craig. Everybody shits. Don't be embarrassed_ ,' he'd told Craig when the man hadn't made it to the toilet in time, ' _I still love you_.'

' _You love me? You're telling me you love me, through the bathroom door, while I'm pissing out my ass with shit in my boxers? This is the minute you choose to tell me that you love me? Really, Reny?'_

' _It's easier to say through the bathroom door. Let me go to the shops and get you some sugar drinks; you'll be dehydrated_.'

"Do you hate me?"

Craig pulled himself from the memory of his first weekend away with his husband, turning to look at Reynolds now. He looked like shit; not anything like the man who'd walk through his doors each night and cuddle him. This man beside him was battered and bruised, his patchy hair growing out at the back. He'd a gingery beard too which Craig hated. Even ill, James Reynolds groomed himself. It was one of the most attractive things about him; he'd a million different moisturisers and creams, clippers to keep his scalp bald, never stubbly.

"Of course I don't hate you," Craig growled, glaring ahead, "I can't hate you."

"You've barely been able to look at me since you first saw me," Reynolds pointed out.

"I'm just in shock, man," Craig mumbled, "I don't know how to feel about this all yet," he stated and then went to change the subject, "We're almost at Grey Estates."

Reynolds nodded, knowing this area like the back of his hand, "Good; I'm starting to hurt."

"Want me to pull over?" Craig asked.

"No, don't worry yourself," Reynolds said with some serious attitude and turned over, laying back against the window.

Craig rolled his eyes at his husband and focused on the road. He knew Reynolds needed him to be cuddly and friendly but Craig wasn't a liar. He was feeling stressed and frustrated, angry that once again the Greys drama had repercussions on his family unit. He'd nearly lost his husband, his daughter's education had been interrupted. The minute he saw Teddy, Craig was sure he would punch his idiotic face in for the hurt and anguish he'd caused him.

But Craig wasn't a violent person, and he loved Ana dearly. He took a deep breath and shook his head of such aggressive thoughts and focused on driving to their home for the next few days.

The cottage was lovely actually, not as horrific as the image Gail painted for Craig. The minute he opened the door he was met with a foul smell, however, but that was because they'd a couple of dishes sitting by the sink, two of which had congealed milk in them. Something was off in the trash too, and the fridge had moulding vegetables inside. Mei was exhausted and excused herself to the spare room the minute they walked in, Reynolds taking a seat on the sofa whilst Craig carried in their suitcase and saw about cleaning up for Gail.

He was a regular visitor in this household and spent a lot of nights with Gail drinking prosecco and playing with make-up. She helped him with his beauty blog by reviewing products too and the pair honestly could giggle for hours on a Saturday night. Jason Caveman Taylor always made an excuse to not be around whenever Craig was over, and he'd categorically banned 'anyone' from their bedroom, which was totally bullshit because Craig knew for a fact that Sawyer had his own drawer in Taylor's wardrobe.

Because the pair were so closeted it hurt.

"I'm just going to clean up a bit," Craig told Reynolds and went outside with the rubbish whilst the sink filled with hot water. He cleaned up the kitchen relatively quickly because he knew where everything was and also it was pretty clean in the first place. Hot soapy water instantly eradicated any lingering smells of rotting food so he moved on to the next job; the toilets. Again, she'd over reacted. It took seconds to put a little bleach down each of them.

"How's Mei?" Reynolds called, having not moved from his spot on the sofa, broken leg stretched out on Gail's grandmother's coffee table. Craig didn't have the energy to remind him of his shoes on the furniture.

"She's asleep," was all Craig could really say, putting the cleaning products back under the sink before turning to his husband, "I'm going to go strip the bed and then I'll come help you upstairs to bed. Do you need anything?"

Reynolds stared at him hard, looking upset no doubt by Craig's coldness towards him. Craig felt guilty but he wasn't ready to act all affectionate; he was still so fucking wired and terrified that he'd nearly lost his husband to his occupation.

"No, I don't need a thing, Craig," Reynolds sighed, and Craig left to go upstairs before he could say anymore.

Craig wasn't sure what he'd honestly expected from Gail and Taylor's room but he was certain that it wasn't this. The walls were very in keeping with the cottage's traditional features; light and airy colours with a feature wall of dusty pink floral wallpaper to the left. The floor was wooden but with an inviting pink fluffy rug in the centre at the foot of the massive, commissioned bed. The furniture was white and very shabby chic, Gail having uplifted and decorated it herself. It was very feminine, Craig thought. It was the last thing he'd expected from Jason.

No he was pleasantly surprised that the homophobic prick lived in such a fresh, feminine bedroom with a dressing table and thick pink curtains. Heck, even the current bedspread was a dusty pink with white daisy chain patterns and a heavy white lace throw rumpled elegantly at the foot of the bed.

Craig put down Reynolds suitcase and stepped into the couple's room more fully, studying the many photos. Whenever he'd met Taylor, he'd been vile to Craig. Stood in the man's room, he was surprised to see pictures of the man smiling. There was the traditional 'I'm an all American male' Marine uniform photo on the dresser of a younger stone faced looking Jason, a gorgeous photo of a young Gail dressed in a beautiful 80's neon yellow vest tucked into a sexy little miniskirt with knee high boots.

On Taylor's side of the bed, Craig noticed a photo just of Gail in her bikini on their holiday to Texas. She'd a good figure, tiny little waist with large breasts and an ass that Craig wished he possessed. It was nice to see that Jason obviously appreciated how lucky he was to have a photo like that on his side of the bed. It made Craig hate him a little less, picking the man's socks and boxers off the floor and launching them into the laundry basket on his way to the en suite bathroom.

Again, it was a little dated compared to the mansion, but Craig rather liked it. The pastel pink colour scheme continued in here with a gorgeous vintage freestanding bathtub to the left, a vintage chain pull toilet and sink to the right. There was no shower, Craig noticed. This room wasn't for getting ready for work, it was completely about tranquillity and relaxation. He noted seven candles in total dotted around the room and spied a blue tooth speaker on a shelf above the bathtub.

God he could use a bubble bath, Craig realised, bleaching that toilet too before studying the adorable wooden 'His and Her' hanging baskets to see what sort of beauty regime Taylor could have. Gail used only products Craig recommended and was surprised to see that that was all she had in her basket. Jason's was just soap, a brutal looking razor and some harsh looking shaving foam. Not moisturiser, no lotions, no bodywash. Just soap.

Craig pulled himself away from spying on his husband's boss and did as Gail asked him, stripping their bed and redressing it with the linen he found on the top of their wardrobe. As he did so, an empty box of condoms fell out of one of the pillow cases. The man apparently was like Reynolds; if he couldn't see rubbish, then he'd tidied it away. Being the bitch he was, Craig picked the box up and cursed; of course they were fucking large. Seeing the box of condoms, Craig then went to empty the bin in the bathroom, ignoring the contents as he tied a knot and went downstairs to chuck them in the trash too.

Gail would find something unclean, Craig was sure, but to him the basics were done.

"Ready for bed?" Craig asked Reynolds, looking at his husband.

"Am I sleeping with you tonight?" Reynolds asked as he stood, looking down at Craig. Damn him being so much taller than Craig's below average size.

"Of course," Craig huffed, walking behind Reynolds as he took the stairs slowly. Because his wrist bones were both bruised, it made grabbing the bannister hard for him so Craig stabled his balance with a firm hand on his back.

"Then let's make up," Reynolds pined, walking along the hallway to the bedroom, "Please Craig, don't be angry at me."

"I'm not angry at you, James," Craig said firmly, "It's just everything's getting too much for me. I really just need time to process everything for myself but I can't get that yet. You've not done anything wrong. I'm angry at this situation. I'm angry that I'm here, with you so injured I had to just walk you up a flight of stairs. I'm angry that I can't be in my own home; that the Greys drama has encroached on our lives and the life of our daughter. She's missed so much school, James, because of this. I don't even think she'll be able to catch up." Craig said flatly, looking at his husband and shaking his head. He'd sat himself on the bed on Jason's side and was crying, Craig realised, wiping his tears away so that he didn't look as pathetic as he was probably feeling.

"I'll hand in my resignation," Reynolds promised, "Please, Craig, I'm sorry."

"I don't want you to do that. I just want you home with Mei and me. I feel like a single parent most of the time. I just want my husband to be able to enjoy a day with us so we can do family things like we dreamed about doing when we first thought about adopting," Craig pouted, his anger leaving him as he looked at his husband, "I love you so much, James Reynolds. I was so fucking scared that we'd lost you."

Damn, now Craig was crying. He covered his face momentarily with his hands then looked at his husband and said again, "I love you."

"I love you too. Come here," Reynolds mumbled, rubbing his eyes and nose with the back of his hand, "Let's make up properly; I want to be with you."

"You want to have sex in your homophobic boss's bed?" Craig clarified and laughed through his tears, "Because I'm totally up for that, especially if we do it on his side."

Reynolds laughed at that, nodding, "Make up sex on J's side of the bed. I can do that," he said confidently and fought to pull his shirt off over his bruised body, "Any other terms?"

"None. What are you going to be up for?" Craig laughed, pulling off his own clothes, "You're so broken right now that the normal positions are sorta out."

"We could cowboy if you want to bottom. Or missionary if you'd rather top?" Reynolds shrugged, "Or we mix it up. Or we just cuddle tonight. I don't care; I'll take you anyway you can give me."

Craig felt his heart swell as he leant down and kissed his husband softly and sweetly, relishing the fact that his man had come home, that he wasn't dead.

"We'll need lube," Craig realised, pulling away and shaking his head, "Damn it, I don't even think they have Vaseline in their bathroom."

"Check their top drawers," Reynolds instructed, laying back on the bed and stretching out, "Luke says the boss has a foot fetish. Feet don't get wet. If he wants a good foot job he's gonna need something to slick his dick with."

"God I don't need that image," Craig laughed hard, rummaging in Taylor's top drawer, "Hey, Reny, how's your wrists feeling?"

"Sore. Why?" Reynolds asked curiously, checking out Craig's tubby body. His eyes went wide as Craig pulled a pair of fluffy pink cuffs out and twirled them on his finger, "Oh my god…what else is in there?"

Craig laughed at his husband's inquisitive personality; he was former CIA after all, he liked to know everything possible about people. It was his hobby; snooping on people.

"Lube," Craig grinned, "Flavoured stuff too. Packet of tissues, an Anthony Burgess book, a watch, mints and-," he paused and felt the humour leaving him as he slowly lifted up two pamphlets.

' _Being the Carer – The Brain Tumour Charity'_

' _How to support a friend or loved one with a brain or spinal tumour'_

Craig gulped a little and placed everything back into the drawer, as though he hadn't been rummaging. He turned to Reynolds who'd opened his arms out for Craig, climbing into his husband's welcoming embrace.

"I love you," Craig said again, "I'm sorry for being so off with you today."

"I love you," Reynolds echoed, "I'm sorry for scaring you."

Both men let out a collective sigh and held each other tightly, realising how lucky they were that they'd each other and both were healthy and strong.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter Thirty Four**

 **.**

 **A lifetime ago,**

 **Stephen's wake,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington State,**

 **.**

"I'm sorry for your loss, Teddy. Stephen was such a good boy," Mr Watson, Teddy's history teacher, said as he walked through the sea of grieving faces and desperately tried to rationalise what was going on and find himself somewhere to hide.

Stephen had been such a very private boy. With having a strong British accent and being new, feminine, petite and little he was a target for bullying. Even from a young age, the other kids called him ' _fag_ ' and ' _gayboy_ ' and Teddy always remembered watching Stephen getting his ass tanned by George Olivia, the school bully three years older than them. Teddy couldn't stand back and watch it any more so he'd stepped in and used his kickboxing lessons to defend himself and Stephen from George.

They'd been best friends ever since; though the bullies called them boyfriends. It didn't bother Teddy; Stephen was good at English and did his homework for him and Teddy kept him safe and played with him at recess.

"Sorry for your loss, Theodore," Stephen's uncle Edwin said, ruffling Teddy's copper hair.

Speechless, Teddy nodded and continued to make his way through the crowds and head towards the stairs, somewhere up high away from everyone. He felt like he could finally breathe from up here, above the adults and looking down upon them. Never in his life had Teddy seen so much black being worn; Mom and Dad never wore it but today Dad was wearing a neat black suit and tie and mom had twinned her black pencil skirt with a black blouse which Teddy had never seen before. Taylor wasn't working today but he'd come with dad and mom and Teddy, wearing the same clothes as dad pretty much.

Reynolds and Sawyer were working, however, and had brought them to the Church Funeral first where Stephen's dad had cried during his speech. Teddy had seen Dad cry too for the first time in his young life. Teddy had stopped watching the speech and stared at his father who'd taken tight hold of Taylor's hand because mom's were clutching Teddy so tightly that it hurt.

Reynolds and Sawyer drove them to the burial next where Stephen's little coffin was lowered into the ground by Stephen's father, uncles and grandfathers. Stephen's mother had cried the hardest here and didn't want to leave the grave. Teddy just didn't understand how to think, watching as the priest said a few words that didn't really mean anything to him before encouraging people to through dirt down on top of the coffin.

" _Are you okay, Teddy?_ " Mom had asked, her eyes red and watery.

" _I'm fine_ ," Teddy shrugged, not sure what to really say or feel.

" _It's okay to be sad at a funeral, honey_ ," mom encouraged, Dad coming over too and kneeling a little so that he was eyelevel with Teddy.

" _You're being so strong, Ted_ ," Dad encouraged, stroking Teddy's cheeks, " _We're so proud of you._ "

" _Thanks_ ," Teddy nodded, fixing his teary parents a smile to reassure them that he was okay. They both cuddled him then before mom went over to Stephen's mother and embraced the English woman tightly as her crying became wailing. Dad went to Stephen's father who Teddy thought was in shock, just staring down at the coffin silently.

' _Burying a child is the worst pain a parent can endure_ ', someone had said, and Teddy believed that, watching the usually happy and welcoming parents breakdown in front of him. He turned away and spotted Taylor sitting over by their car, pulling a hipflask from his jacket and taking a long sip. Luke rubbed his shoulder as he went to do a parameter check, Reynolds watching over Teddy's family.

They'd gone back to Stephen's house for the Wake, Stephen's mom a little more like her normal self as she made sure everyone had food and drinks and were well rested. Taylor had handed her two trays of sandwiches and cakes with foil wrapped tightly around them.

" _From Gail, Barbara. She's sorry she couldn't have been here today but she didn't think she'd manage. We loved Stephen dearly,"_ Jason had said, giving her a thin smile.

Stephen's mom and smiled and taken the trays of food from him, " _Thank you, Jason_ ," she said, making space for the extra food on the buffet table, " _Can I please hug you?"_

Teddy had seen Jason gulp but open his arms out for an embrace which looked so uncomfortable. Like when Nana Grace tried to give Teddy sloppy kisses.

" _Thank you for staying with him_ ," Stephen's mom sighed, kissing his cheek.

" _I wouldn't let him go with strangers, Barbara,_ " Jason insisted, letting her go and moving on so that she could go back to playing hostess.

Hiding upstairs, Teddy watched as some of the party began to disperse. He'd taken off his black jacket and hung it on the bannister, sitting cross legged and looking down at everyone, trying to work out who all these people were in relation to Stephen.

"Ready to go, kiddo?" Sawyer asked, coming down the stairs and fixing his belt, "Sorry to startle you. I was in the bathroom."

"I think I am ready. Unless mom and dad want to stay and help Stephen's parents," Teddy nodded, surprised when Sawyer sat down on the step below Teddy's.

"Your mom and dad are here for you, Teddy, as long as you want to be here. This is your goodbye," Sawyer instructed, not giving Teddy any false smiles like most of the other adults had been all day, "Stephen was your friend."

"Is," Teddy corrected Sawyer, "He's still my friend."

"Sorry," Sawyer said, looking up when Taylor stumbled towards them, "You okay, man?"

"Toilet?" Jason asked, looking drunk Teddy thought.

"Upstairs, T. Third door on your left," Sawyer instructed, watching Jason squeeze past them both and head up to the bathroom, "He needs home."

"I think so," Teddy agreed, "Why didn't Ryan care enough to come?" he asked suddenly, and the harshness of Teddy's tone appeared to catch Sawyer by surprise.

"Ryan cares a lot, Ted," Sawyer insisted, "But someone had to stay with Phoebe and Gail today," he explained, "And we thought, because of his Autism, that maybe Ryan would not be the best to handle this situation."

"Why?" Teddy frowned.

"Because he's got as much social skills as a dog on heat," Sawyer said bluntly, "He's a fucking genius, Ted, but he can't read situations like these very well. Any other funeral and he'd be fine but we all spoke about the safety aspect and Ryan decided himself that he'd be better watching the home front. It's not 'cause he doesn't care, Ted. Geez, never think that. We all care. We all loved Stephen."

 _Yet no one could save him_ , Teddy thought but didn't say, standing up and putting his hands in his pockets, "I want to go home now. Mom and dad are crying and Taylor's drunk. Someone's got to be an adult."

"Ted," Sawyer said, "Grief effects people in different ways. I mean it; everyone's at a loss right now. If they're a little off, you've got to grant them leeway at least for a few days."

"I still want to go home," Ted insisted, "I don't want to be in here anymore. It's too wrong."

Sawyer looked him dead in the eye and then sighed, standing up. He leant his mouth into the speaker on his jacket lapel, "Reynolds. The Chick wants out the house. Can you take him to the car?"

In seconds, Reynolds had made his way into the house and taken Teddy by the shoulder, guiding him outside into the fresh air. Instantly, Teddy felt better. He spotted the playset and jungle gym he and Stephen loved to climb on, the swimming pool that Teddy had peed in because he'd laughed so much, the treehouse he'd spent weekends in overnight with Stephen.

"It gets easier, Ted," Reynolds said now, having stopped walking to let Teddy take in the garden one last time, "I know that means nothing right now but it gets better."

"I don't care, Reynolds," Teddy huffed, "It'll feel better instantly the minute I'm away from this place."

.

.

 **The evening after Stephen's funeral,**

 **Grey Mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle,**

.

Ana sighed, walking down towards Christian. She looked so tired today, the last few days having really exhausted her and aged her. Christian would never say but he noticed a change in her once youthful and innocent face; Stephen's death had changed her and affected her deeply. Mentally, she was crying more and blaming herself for not paying a closer attention to the boys.

'It was a freak accident, Ana. The boys are twelve; you can't sit outside and watch them forever,' Christian reminded her but the 'What Ifs' where still haunting her. How different would it have been if she'd decided to take Teddy, Stephen and Phoebe to the movies like Phoebe had asked? What if she'd let Teddy build that fort out of all the cushion pillows? What if they'd told Elliot they couldn't look after his dog?

There was so many what Ifs that it was hard not to believe Stephen's death was there fault.

But the truth was it was no one's fault; he'd climbed that horrible old tree with the dog lead around his neck and fallen. He'd carried his own noose around his neck as he'd tried to reach Lucky's tennis ball to stop him barking.

It was a total and complete freak accident, the sort that shocked and devastated communities.

"Christian," Ana sighed, eyes watery as she sunk into his arms and buried herself into his chest, "I can't believe he's gone. I can't believe it."

"I know," Christian croaked, kissing her cheek and wrapping her up protectively in his arms, "I can't even begin to pretend what Michael and Barbara are going through. I can't imagine losing Teddy at this age," Christian said, his voice breaking as he began to cry once more.

He couldn't envision losing his kids so suddenly. To drop them off and wave goodbye to them and not know that that was the last goodbye, the last cuddle, the last kiss he'd ever get from them. Ana rubbed his back gently, letting him cry into her shoulder until he calmed down a little more. He pulled back and wiped his eyes and nose, looking over to see Ryan standing by the door.

"Mr Grey," Ryan started, Ana looking over mid-sob, "I'll apologise just now because I might say the wrong thing but…was the funeral good?"

"It was," Christian nodded, understanding what Ryan meant and choosing not to berate him for his word choice, "the service was really good. It was horribly sad but they played Stephen's favourite songs and dressed him in his favourite clothes. In fact the coffin came in on the back of an Optimus Prime truck. His mom had all his favourite foods on the buffet for him. Gail brought his favourite sandwiches."

"Yeah I saw she gave them to Taylor this morning. I'm glad it went alright, Sir," Ryan said, scratching his stubbly chin, "I just wanted to let you know that, if either of you or Teddy or Phoebe ever need anything I can be here in seconds. Death's tough and it's hard to process."

"Thank you, Ryan," Ana sniffled, letting go of Christian and wrapping her arms around his neck tightly. Ryan was perhaps the only man Christian let Ana hug, besides her father. He hated cuddling and stood rigid and stiffly. Slowly, he lowered his arms and looped them around Ana's shoulders, not quite hugging her back, "Thank you for helping me on The Day."

The Day Stephen died in Christian's back garden.

Ryan's head dropped slightly at the memory, "I did my job, ma'am. I'm glad I was there to help you all."

Ana let him go and Christian watched as he scurried back through to the security office to hide for the remainder of his shift.

"I think I'm going to go to bed," Ana said sadly, looking at Christian, "Are you coming?"

"I think I might have a drink and sit outside, Ana," Christian admitted, "If I go to bed now I'll never sleep. I'll just keep thinking."

Because Christian didn't drink that often, Ana understood. She kissed his wet cheek softly and wrapped her arms back around him before heading to the stairwell. Christian watched her go, smiling thinly before turning to find a bottle of liquor that would do the trick. Gail kept the good stuff up high in a locked cupboard which Christian knew the combination for, pulling out the bottle of Bourbon that Stephen had brought him for Christmas last year. Christian and Ana had given Michael and Barbara use of their Aspen home for Christmas past and as a thank you, Stephen had come into their house with top shelf alcohol and a gorgeous orchid which sat elegantly in Ana's office.

Cracking the lid, Christian felt his eyes water. He'd never, ever expected that he'd become so emotional over the death of one of Teddy's friends but Stephen was such a gem and his heart broke for his son, for Michael and Barbara who'd lost their special little boy, for Ana and Taylor and Ryan who'd watched an child die in front of them, for Gail who'd taken Teddy and Phoebe in her car and driven to Escala where they didn't have to see the police cars and ambulance and the bodybag…

One beloved child's death had rocked their whole worlds.

Ana was a nervous wreck, Christian could see her declining in her mental health. No matter what he tried, she just didn't seem to be able to smile fully. Instead, she gazed off and relived that horrible, horrible memory of Stephen hanging, of Taylor trying to get to him with a broken wrist, the thump as both bodies hit the floor, Ryan trying for a pulse…

Wiping his eyes and steadying his breath, Christian grabbed a small tumbler and walked outside to the gazebo overlooking the pool. Elliot had insisted they build one for entertaining guests in the summer; it was a three walled slatted bamboo structure with a lovely thatched roof, a coffee table and sofas inside overlooking the pool and beside the BBQ. It was a lovely quiet place to sit and both Christian and Ana regularly took their work outside to do whenever the weather held.

"Mr Grey," Taylor slurred, looking startled when Christian came round the corner of the gazebo. He put down his half-drunk bottle of whisky and stared up at Christian with red rimmed eyes, "Suh-sorry I shouldn't be sittin' here," he continued and made to stand, knowing Christian had a dim view of staff using the furniture without consent. He'd once found Sawyer sunbathing in their garden before his shift and so made a point to have a small garden built by the staff quarters, overlooking the Sound.

"Don't be stupid, sit down Jason," Christian instructed, first naming him to let him know this was not a formal occasion.

Jason sat and laid his head back, "I'm hammered."

"I'm in the process of joining you," Christian agreed, forgoing the tumbler and drinking straight from the bottle like Jason had obviously been doing, "I can't get over seeing Michael looking at the coffin in the ground. It scares the fuck out of me. If that were any of my kids…I don't think even Ana could save me."

"I'm handing in my resignation, Mr Grey," Jason blurted, sitting forward and putting his head in his hands, "I'm pretty certain I'm going to resign-"

"No you fucking aren't," Christian snapped, "This wasn't your fault, Jason. You weren't even working; you were on sick leave with your wrist. You're not getting to leave my family when we need you the most. When I need you the most."

"I couldn't save him," Jason croaked and Christian saw his large shoulders begin to shake again as he silently cried. A shaking hand reached out for the bottle of Whisky and he lifted it to his lips and drank through the outburst to try and divert his train of thought.

Christian copied, drinking as quickly as he could to avoid the burn bourbon always left in his mouth.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" Jason asked, catching Christian off guard.

"Sure," Christian nodded, "As long as you stand a little bit away from the furniture. I didn't realise you smoked."

"Only when I'm drunk," Jason slurred as he stumbled to his feet and pulled a packet of smokes from his trouser pocket, "Or I'm stressed. Tonight I'm both,"

Christian nodded and understood to a certain extent; everyone had their means of meditation.

As Taylor's face become a lit with the slight orange glow of the cigarette butt, Christian noticed a little figure approaching them both.

"Teddy? You should be in bed, buddy," Christian mumbled as his son stepped into the gazebo's light, dressed in his pyjamas and slippers, "Are you okay?"

"I can't sleep," Teddy shrugged and sat down on the single seat with a hot chocolate he'd made himself, much to Christian's irritation; he didn't like the kids handling hot drinks, "Can I sit with you guys for a bit?"

"Um, well sure," Christian said, though he already felt woozy from drinking, "Of course you can, bud. Do you need to talk about anything?"

"There's nothing to talk about; Stephen died in our garden," Teddy said harshly, shrugging as he sipped his hot chocolate, "I just need fresh air."

"Ted, it's alright to be sad and angry and to be confused," Christian started, "Death is a horrible thing. Even adults struggle to come to terms with losing a friend."

Teddy nodded again, "Sawyer said the same thing," he told Christian, "I just don't understand why so many people were at the funeral today. Stephen probably didn't even know half of them."

"People sometimes go to funerals to support the family," Christian explained, "For Michael and Barbara; it's a sign of respect to let the family know they've got support behind them."

"Support wont bring back Stephen," Teddy stated firmly, "And that's what they need."

"I know, Ted," Christian said patiently, "It'll never be the same life for them now. But in Stephen's memory we've got to all pull together and support each other."

Ted sighed, sipping his drink once more before looking up when Taylor came back into the gazebo, taking his seat beside Christian. He wiped his eyes on his sleeves and picked up his whisky bottle again, taking another drink.

"Why are you drinking like that, Taylor?" Teddy frowned.

"Because," Taylor said, and looked to Christian to help him explain but, god, how do you explain that to a child who was clearly struggling with the initial concept of death?

"Because he's feeling bad that Stephen died," Christian explained for the bodyguard, "And sometimes adults drink when they're upset. It's bad, a really bad thing to do, but sometimes a good drink is what's needed."

"Are you sad because you let Stephen die?" Teddy countered, glaring at Taylor unkindly. His words and attitude shift startled Christian; did Teddy understand what had happened? He was so young to have to try and rationalise death, was he therefore just confused?

Taylor nodded, stupidly, but Christian shook his head.

"Stephen's death was a freak accident, Teddy. It was no one's fault, no one let him die, okay?" Christian said firmly but as patiently as he could because he knew his son was still in shock and confused. Neither Teddy or Phoebe had experienced death before, "I need you to understand that. Jason didn't let him die, neither did Ryan or mom or whoever you think did nothing. If we could, we'd walk through Hell and back to bring Stephen home. But we can't. We've got to be supportive and help each other through this, okay?"

Teddy glared but said nothing, sipping his drink before cracking his knuckles, "Right," he eventually agreed, "Sorry."

"That's okay, Ted," Christian said softly, "It's going to be okay."

"I know it hurts," Jason tried next, tears trickling down his cheeks again. Teddy's comment had really rocked him and driven home that he was somehow to blame, "I lost my best friend too, in a freak accident. At least when you know someone's sick you anticipate an end. When they're not, and you get that phone call to say they've died, it's horrific. And then you slowly start to realise that you'll never hang out, you'll analyse the last thing you ever said to them, you'll never be able to ask their advice and grow with them."

"Stephen's gone, Taylor. I doesn't hurt. It's just sad," Teddy explained factually with the same stubbornness as his mother. Christian could tell that the whole thing hadn't hit his son yet. He hoped it hit sooner rather than later, because Teddy was on the cusp of puberty. He'd rather try and help his son before he was a raging ball of hormones. It would be a lesser battle for them, he hoped, "I'm going to watch tv," he said, not asking for permission to do so like normal.

Christian didn't feel the ability to remind him of his manners, not after today, "Just keep the volume down; don't wake your sister."

"Mom's crying by the way," Teddy told Christian as he stood, "I heard her crying."

"I know," Christian agreed, "Remember, we've got to support each other, Ted. It's going to be tough but if we support each other we'll be okay, right?"

Teddy sighed, "Right, Sir."

.

.

 **Present day afternoon,**

 **20th of October,**

 **Preston Royal infirmary,**

 **Victoria bc,**

 **Canada**

.

Taylor was nesting in tightly against Teddy once more, his bandaged arm resting on a pillow to give it support on Teddy's chest. His big feet were curled under Teddy's for warmth, the throw over both their bodies as both men slept soundly.

He was getting stronger, Ana knew that much. In the hours which slowly morphed into painfully slow days, Ana had seen Jason strengthen. He was doing well, perhaps the best out of the three men left in critical conditions. The doctors had already booked him a spot in one of Seattle's best physiotherapy units where they hoped to help him rediscover the use of his fragile arm.

Gail had said that Jason couldn't feel parts of his arm around the wound itself, but he could feel the tips of his fingers and the palm of his hand. He could flex his fingers too though it was obviously painful for him to do so and it caused his eyes to water at the irritation it caused.

"His Libido is back," Gail had joked that morning over coffee, trying to lighten the darkened mood that had befallen Ana, "He was a little 'touchy feely' this morning when I brought him breakfast. It's a shame his subtlety is yet to return; the poor nurse doesn't need to see him swatting my backside while she'd upping his pain relief."

That had made Ana laugh, glad to see Jason was making positive progress.

"Christian's the same," she'd told Gail, her daughter having stayed at the hotel with Stonehouse so that she could skype with her friends. She'd felt guilty asking to miss doing the morning rounds but Ana understood that this was such an intense environment and at the current moment everyone was just waiting for Ted to get better. Or worse.

"Was he?" the house keeper giggled. She looked beautiful today, Ana thought. She'd been more conscious about doing her make up now that she'd short stubbly hair and her face looked lovely, dressed in hip hugging jeans and a blouse as well. No wonder Taylor had felt himself awaken more than usual.

"Yeah," Ana nodded, sipping her tea, "He asked yesterday if I'd still 'sit on his face' even though it's going to be scarred."

"The man has his priorities aligned correctly," Gail laughed hard, "I hope you said 'yes'. Otherwise I'm sure the man would give up on getting better."

Ana had giggled. It was a dark joke to make but she was absolutely right; it was so something her husband would do. "I told him that as long as his tongue's in one piece he's got nothing to worry about. You should have seen his smile then, Gail. It was so…bright. I really hope he's not thought I'd leave him over his goddamn face. It's just a face."

"It is just a face," Gail had agreed, "A beautiful face, but not as beautiful as the man behind it."

"Exactly," Ana smiled, "I'm glad they're getting better. If they're both thinking about sex, they'll be discharging themselves soon I'm sure."

"Absolutely," Gail nodded and laughed, the waitress bringing them breakfast, "The sooner they discharge themselves, the sooner we get laid, Mrs Grey."

"Mrs Taylor," Ana joked, "Has it been that long?"

"There's a reason I'm with a younger man, Mrs Grey," Gail had quipped, picking up her cutlery, "And it's not for his hairline."

It had been an oddly lovely breakfast. Ana was starting to relish the little moments with the people she loved; these little minutes of normality were what kept her motivated through the long stretch of hours until bedtime.

Her husband was getting his skin graft this afternoon and Ana was ecstatic. She'd been present when the procedure was being explained; they'd take a layer from his thigh which would somehow be stretched and attached and then bandaged. After five days, they'd remove the bandage to check it was healing and Ana was sure Christian cried at the prospect of not undergoing anymore changes on his arm.

Whilst he was undergoing the surgery, Ana had come to sit with Teddy and talk to him. She wasn't surprised to find Taylor already nesting in beside him, head rested against Ted's neck, but she knew the doctors wouldn't be impressed.

She'd tucked Taylor in, keeping his sick bowl close because she knew his pain medication always left him queasy.

They'd sat for thirty minutes in silence, Ana holding Teddy's hand whilst Jason cuddled around him, when the big bear finally spoke.

"He didn't leave me when I needed him," he told Ana softly, "Twice."

"Tell me," Ana asked, looking at Jason's blue eyes, "Tell me about him."

"I hit my head when we jumped into a river," Jason started, "I collapsed. He took me to a doctors, stole a car, organised some money, booked a hotel…he just made sure we had a place to recover. Then when Slick was killing me, he came back for me and saved my life. That bullet was meant for me and he took it. He saved my life multiple times."

Ana wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at her little boy, "I'm so proud of you, Ted."

"I can't leave him until I know for sure that he's going to be okay," Taylor explained, "I just can't. Because he wouldn't leave me," he yawned and looked at Ana again, "Where's Gail and Phoebe?"

"Phoebe stayed at the hotel this morning but she's with Sawyer while we wait on news from Christian's surgeon. Gail's getting Sophie and Mitt from the airport. I take it Mitt's Soph's boyfriend?" Ana asked him, seeing Taylor grimace and grunt like any father would at the prospect of a man travelling with his daughter.

"Mittapheap," Jason nodded, "They have an apartment in Cambodia. He's a local. Been together for two years."

"It's lovely of him to come with Sophie to support her," Ana said positively, knowing Christian would start pissing on the floor around Phoebe to mark his territory if any man wanted to travel with her.

"He's a good guy," Taylor mumbled, laying his head back down against Teddy's neck as a wave of nausea clearly hit him.

"Reynolds text so say ' _thank you_ ' for letting him and Craig and Mei stay at your cottage by the way, Taylor," Ana smiled, pulling her phone out to show him the text message, "I think they needed it; a place away from the main house. Craig was a little lost but I think they made up last night."

"Wait, what? They're staying _in_ the cottage?" Taylor frowned, sitting up ever so slightly, "What room are they fucking sleeping in?"

"I'll assume yours. Gail organised it for them," Ana explained, seeing an angry look befall him, "Is there a problem with Craig and Reynolds staying at yours?"

"Those two fags better not have fucked on my bed or I'll…I'll, fuck I don't know," Jason huffed furiously, sitting completely up now, "Fucking hell. Fuck that lefty wife of mine. I told her she could let them use the cottage as a refuge; not to let them fucking move in! Bum fucking in my bed! For fuck sake Gail."

Ana was about to curse Taylor for his language in a hospital…when she noticed Teddy's eyes twitch.

He abso-fucking-lutely twitched, Ana fucking saw it.

"Teddy?" Ana gasped, standing up and holding his hand tighter, "Teddy, baby, can you hear us? It's mom and Tay. We're here, Tedster."

"Tedster?" Taylor called, standing up as quickly as he could with his bad arm and laying his hand on Teddy's chest. He looked at Ana next, "Ana, did you see him move?"

"I swear. I swear I saw his eyelid twitch," Ana insisted, looking at Taylor with what must have been a look of sheer dementedness, "You'd just said 'bum fucking' and I saw it. I swear I saw it. I mean it, Jason. His eyelid twitched."

Jason nodded and hit the Doctor button beside Ted's arm before going back to rubbing Teddy's chest, "Come on, buddy, twitch again for us. Let me see you twitch. Come on, Teddy."

"I swear I saw it, Jason," Ana repeated over and over again, "They'll say that I didn't but I swear to god, I swear on my kids lives that he twitched."

"I believe you," Jason nodded, giving her a reassuring smile, "I believe you, Ana."

Ana felt her eyes water in relief that someone finally believed her. She looked back at her son and watched him closely, studying his eyes then watching his mouth around the apparatus helping him breathe. Silently, she prayed he would twitch again just to let Jason see that she wasn't crazy. That Teddy knew Taylor and Ana were there.

The doctor came in and Jason explained fully what had happened, the woman smiling pleasantly enough at Jason and Ana before going to check Teddy's vitals.

"Did you see him move too, Mr Taylor?" the doctor asked and Ana felt sick; the doctor thought she's imagined it.

"No I never saw it," Jason growled lowly, "but I believe Mrs Grey when she says she saw Ted move. Mother's intuition."

Ana felt only slightly better by Jason's confidence in her observations. She took a deep breath and looked at the doctor, "I swear I saw him move."

"He's not moving now, Mrs Grey," the doctor said, turning to face her, "We'll keep a good eye on him, Mrs Grey, I'm sure he possibly did twitch but it could easily have been a nerve twitch."

Ana sighed and sat back down, wiping tears from her eyes.

"He did twitch," Jason defended tirelessly, "I'll stay here for as long as I need to so I can witness it myself."

"Mr Taylor, might I remind you that you are also still in recovery," the doctor chided, "Please, take it easy and keep yourself calm."

Taylor grumbled but said nothing more, looking a little green Ana thought. She was about to ask if he was alright when Phoebe and Luke suddenly appeared at the door, smiling widely. Or at least Phoebe was smiling; Luke just managed a painful looking grimace, "Dad's out of surgery; the surgeons are saying everything went fantastically!"

"Oh thank god," Ana sighed in relief, nudging Teddy's arm gently as the doctor took her leave, "Did you hear that? Dad's skin graft was a success."

"Is Gail on her way back from the airport?" Taylor then asked Luke, sitting down in the seat by Ted's bedside and picking up his sick bowl to hold it closer to himself.

"Yesh," Luke managed to say, his jaw less swollen but a more reddy black bruising colour, "Wif Shoph and Mitt and pee-sha."

"Pee-sha?" Ana echoed, stroking Teddy's arm softly.

"Pizza," Phoebe translated for poor Sawyer, smiling at her mom, "Gail's bringing pizza. I put in an order for us both. We're allowed to see dad for a few minutes but they want him to sleep. Do you want to come, mom?"

"Of course," Ana nodded instantly and stood up, turning to her son, "Taylor, are you wanting to come with us?"

"No, I best not," Taylor admitted, looking pale once more, "I'm feeling a little sick. The last thing the boss needs is me vomiting on his lap." Luke laughed at that, then cursed as he jerked his jaw, "I might just go lie down in my own bed," he said and stood, carrying his bowl as he staggered back to his own bed to relieve himself of his sudden nausea.

"Lets go see dad," Ana grinned, kissing Teddy's cheek, pulling his blanket over his body and tucking him back in as she followed her daughter and Sawyer towards the burns unit.

.

.

 **That evening,**

 **20th of October,**

 **Preston Royal infirmary,**

 **Victoria bc,**

 **Canada**

.

Dad wasn't well. He'd apologised for not being up to her and Mitt but the morphine was giving him serious sickness tonight. She'd introduced her father to her long term boyfriend and Dad had went to shake Mitt's hand but then reached for his sickbowl instead.

The doctors intended to give him an anti-sickness tablet to help him fight off the waves of sickness that were pillaging his weak body, but they'd made the decision to let him sleep instead of waking him up for the sake of re-medicating him.

Sophie had smiled at her poorly father, glad he'd at least attempted to make conversation with Mitt for her benefit. Gail had been wonderful too, making small talk with Mitt, asking him about his life in Phnom Penh and questioning the differences in American culture to Cambodian. She paid for their dinner too, and picked them up from the airport and was every bit as welcoming as Sophie had known she would be.

"I'm going to go see Ted," Sophie had told Mitt, kissing him sweetly in the hall outside her father's room.

"No problems, princess," Mitt smiled, holding her hand and giving it a squeeze. He was a handsome man, a wonderfully kind man too. Sophie had been smitten with him the minute he'd held the door open for her one day at the school they both worked in.

He was around her height, dark skinned with thick black hair which he swept to the side in what his mother called 'a Ridiculous Western way', especially with his stubbled jaw. He'd an ear piercing and a gorgeous, cheeky, pearly white smile that made her swoon if she was being honest; she became giddy whenever he smiled at her because he was just so playful and funny. Plus, a bonus, he was addicted to crossfit. It was a new thing in Cambodia and Mitt was constantly at the gym working out and pushing his body to the limits. The results were that he'd a cracking body under his jeans and t-shirt.

"I'm just going to call Mother and let her know we have arrived," Mitt said, and smiled, wrapping his arms around her, "Then I may go see your mother-in-law and see how she is."

"Step Mother," Sophie laughed, Mitt occasionally getting English words muddled up, "Gail's my step mom."

"Do you think your father and Step Mother liked me?" Mitt asked with ever so slight worry. He was desperate to show her old man that he could look after Sophie and be the man he'd always wanted for her. The fact that dad was a Marine had knocked Mitt's confidence ever so slightly.

"You held the sick bowl for Gail," Sophie laughed, "That makes you Gail's hero; she can't deal with sick," she wrapped her arms around Mitt's neck and kissed him deeply, "Honestly; you're dong great. Don't worry."

Mitt nodded, then gave her that award winning smile, "Go and see Ted. I'll go call Mother and then speak to Gail."

"Good," Sophie grinned, kissing his nose before letting him go and walking down the corridors to find her friend.

Her friend who'd she'd slept with only months ago.

Sophie felt a pang of instant guilt as she thought about what she'd done behind Mitt's back. She'd paid her own flight home to be at Teddy's eighteenth birthday to surprise her best friend…but also to give him a slap for his actions towards her father, Gail, the security, his own mother…

She was perhaps the only person who truly knew how much Stephen's sudden death had destroyed Teddy's innocence. He'd started off a little lost and confused. He was angry but his loss hadn't really hit home until he was thirteen and in highschool. He'd fallen in with the wrong crowds pretty quickly because he'd no other friends beside Stephen and he'd realised how lonely schools could be without friends.

Drinking and drugs had started pretty much straight after. Even when he got moved to a new school, Ted still found himself in trouble. When he'd turned sixteen he'd called her to tell her that he'd cut himself and hadn't stopped bleeding. To Sophie's horror, she'd picked Teddy up in her car clutching toilet tissue to his abs where he'd self-harmed. She loved Teddy, she'd always loved him and he knew it. Otherwise he'd not have called her when he needed help. But she wasn't his psychologist; she wasn't educated enough to save him like he wanted to be saved and she couldn't spend the next few years watching him continue to destroy himself like he was.

So coming home and shagging the boy had been the single worst thing she'd done in her fucking life. What the fuck had she been thinking?! She'd had an argument with Mitt before coming home, she'd been horny and she was so fucking relieved to see Teddy.

Fuck sake.

She shook the memory from her mind and slowly entered Teddy's room, biting her lip as her eyes cast over her dear, dear friend.

Oh god, Ted.

He looked so weak and unwell, his body covered in wires which hooked him up to offensive looking machinery. His face was pretty much covered by some strange breathing apparatus thing so Sophie couldn't even see his beautiful cupid bow lips. With a buzzcut too, he looked nothing like the Teddy she'd grown up with and every bit a man.

"Hey Teddy," Sophie called, clearing her throat, "Hiya, Teddy Bear. It's Soph."

She approached him slowly, afraid to disturb him for some reason. She sat beside him and gently took his hand, "Thank you for, you know, taking a bullet in the gut for dad. I heard that it means you've literally shat yourself inside your body. Fucking doofus."

Teddy didn't shift, didn't twitch like Dad had said he might. Instead, he just lay there with the beeping of the machine behind him. It felt so artificial and scary to Sophie that she took tight hold of Teddy's hand and stroked it gently.

"Please wake up, Teddy," Sophie begged softly, bringing Teddy's hand to her cheek, "Please. I'm here for you. We all are. Please, wake up."

She watched him for what felt like forever but was, in fact, merely twenty minutes. She didn't mind doing so whatsoever. Gail and Mitt were with Dad, Sawyer was sound asleep and Ana and Phoebe had gone to their hotel to sleep since it was late and Mr Grey wasn't allowed visitors tonight after his operation wore him out.

Sophie pulled her mobile phone from her pocket and clicked on to her Spotify, Teddy having made a playlist on her phone years ago when she'd driven him to hospital after he'd deliberately hurt himself. She pressed play and laid the phone beside his pillow before going back to cradling his hand in hers.

' _Get me outta this place, before I cause more damage…'_

"You love this music, Ted," Sophie cooed, "Listen; it's Running From Lions. You little Emo, you."

She tapped his hand in time to the rhythm, watching his face curiously as she hummed and sung along to the lyrics. She wished so badly that Teddy liked music which was a little more upbeat and bouncy but the reality was he liked music which was dark and morbid and left the listener feeling at angst. Sophie couldn't remember the last time she'd listened to Teddy singing a song which wasn't about Death or Murder or Broken Hearts.

'… _Running from lions never felt like such a mistake,_

 _Like a dear in the headlights, I won't know what hit me,_

 _Running from lions never felt like such a mistake…,'_

Sophie found herself singing along lowly, glad to tune out of the repetitiveness of the beeping machinery. She continued to tap Teddy's hand along with the beat, singing softly to him as they worked his way through Teddy's playlist song by song.

"Come on, Ted," Sophie sighed, kissing his hand then squeezing it, "Please be okay. Please," she asked, looking up from his hands and-

"Fuck, Teddy!" Sophie gasped, met with two of the most beautiful grey eyes she'd ever seen. Teddy was watching her, looking wired and panicked, "It's okay, you're okay. You're in the hospital. Don't worry. I've just pressed for the doctor," Sophie insisted, tears in her eyes as she looked down at her best friend, "Oh god, Teddy. I can't believe you're awake. It's okay, don't worry. The doctor's coming. I'll call your mom too. And Phoebe."

Teddy watched her and only her, the machinery around him beeping louder and more intimidatingly. Sophie squeezed his hand tightly and continued to stare down at him and smile widely. "Oh god, Ted. It's fucking great to see you're awake at last, you lazy shit," she laughed, kissing his hand in disbelief, "You lazy fucking shit."


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter Thirty Five**

.

'… _Running from lions never felt like such a mistake,_

 _Like a dear in the headlights, I won't know what hit me,_

 _Running from lions never felt like such a mistake…,'_

 _Sophie found herself singing along lowly, glad to tune out of the repetitiveness of the beeping machinery. She continued to tap Teddy's hand along with the beat, singing softly to him as they worked his way through Teddy's playlist song by song._

" _Come on, Ted," Sophie sighed, kissing his hand then squeezing it, "Please be okay. Please," she asked, looking up from his hands and-_

" _Fuck, Teddy!" Sophie gasped, met with two of the most beautiful grey eyes she'd ever seen. Teddy was watching her, looking wired and panicked, "It's okay, you're okay. You're in the hospital. Don't worry. I've just pressed for the doctor," Sophie insisted, tears in her eyes as she looked down at her best friend, "Oh god, Teddy. I can't believe you're awake. It's okay, don't worry. The doctor's coming. I'll call your mom too. And Phoebe."_

 _Teddy watched her and only her, the machinery around him beeping louder and more intimidatingly. Sophie squeezed his hand tightly and continued to stare down at him and smile widely. "Oh god, Ted. It's fucking great to see you're awake at last, you lazy shit," she laughed, kissing his hand in disbelief, "You lazy fucking shit."_

…

 **Two days later,**

 **22nd of October,**

 **Preston Royal infirmary,**

 **Victoria bc,**

 **Canada**

.

Teddy was awake.

Christian was recovering well from his skin graft.

Luke was preparing to drive Danni's car down to the Mansion.

Taylor was set to be discharged to specialist unit in Seattle.

Ana couldn't believe how perfectly everything had turned out for her and her loved ones. The medical professionals couldn't believe it either. When Sophie raised the alarm that Teddy's eyes had opened, doctors, nurses, surgeons and even students flooded Teddy's room to see for their selves that he'd woken up. Apparently, no one expected to see him come out of the coma; his awakening had been incredibly delayed given his age and overall health.

Watching her son blink and study the room and the unknown faces who entered made Ana's heart swell. She just couldn't believe her son was back. He was incredibly weak still, the doctors working tirelessly to stem any form of infection which may arise from his gut shot wound, but the more hours that passed, the more promising a full recovery looked for Ted.

"Hey, handsome, how are you?" Ana called as she came in to see her son, glad he was a little more animated today. He watched her as she came in and smiled softly when she sat beside her.

"Hey mom," Teddy nodded, his voice raw and coarse still since the breathing apparatus came out, "How are you?"

"All the better for seeing you," Ana promised, holding his hand softly, "How are you?"

"Better," Teddy nodded, "Gail brought me a breakfast muffin," he told Ana, nodding to the picked at cake on his counter, "I'm not really hungry though. How's dad?"

"Dad's doing great," Ana reported, "He's up and moving now. The doctors don't really like it but he's been getting pains in his legs from lying so the nurse is helping him do a few lengths of the hallway while his arm's still covered."

"Will he be able to see me soon?" Teddy asked, "I'd like to see him."

"Maybe eventually when we know for sure that the skin graft has attached without infection," Ana nodded, "Sawyer came down to see you but he says you were asleep."

"I was," Teddy chuckled, then winced at the pain doing so caused him, "I was exhausted. I didn't sleep well last night. Someone down the corridor was screaming," he lifted his arm slowly and ran his hand over his buzzcut and then sighed, "How's Sawyer?"

"He's ready to head home," Ana explained, "There's nothing more that they can do for him; his jaw is going to be wired for a few weeks now so he's going back to our house to heal while Welch deals with the legal side of everything."

Teddy grimaced and laid his head back against his pillow, "Slick tried to shoot Taylor," Teddy said, "It was my fault; I hit Slick's bodyguard. But his bodyguard shot him…It's still a bit of a blur."

"It wasn't your fault," Ana assured him and squeezed his hand tightly, "Don't blame yourself for what happened at the lodge. Taylor says Slick was a rabid dog; he needed put down."

"Damen shot Slick; that much I remember," Teddy continued then sighed again. His memory as poor and he didn't really remember all that much from the minute he was shot until now. Even the standoff with Slick and Damen was sketchy and the police were concerned with Teddy's ability to give a strong testimony now. Taylor's was the only eyewitness testimony which they could use to piece together what had happened; Damen shot Slick then ran.

"When will I get home?" Teddy asked, looking confused again.

"They're going to transfer you soon, don't worry," Ana assured him, knowing he wanted to be back in America. The specialist unit that Taylor, Teddy and Christian would be referred to was a state of the art complex where each man could receive the therapies and rehabilitation they needed to get back to normal, nor as normal as they could achieve.

The doctors were convinced Taylor would recover full or 'near full' use of his arm. Ana had seen Jason asking one of the officers outside of his room for a hold of his gun. He'd been able to grip it and he'd flexed his trigger finger too, which was fantastic. He couldn't lift his arm too high but that was more due to bruising and the recovering muscle wound.

Christian's prognosis wasn't looking as good. His face was recovering well -though it was evident he'd have a discoloured scar- and the doctors had managed to stem off any potential infections, but the nerve damage in his arm would be extensive and require a lot of surgeries and rehabilitation to get him to use it ever again. If he could use it. No one truly knew what to think when it came to her husband; no one wanted to say either way. All Ana knew for sure was that she would not be letting Teddy know the extent of his father's injuries until she truly had to.

He's made a mistake. He'd acted out and snuck out from the house to go out drinking with his friends. It was typical young person behaviour; Christian had been a shit of a teenager, Sawyer had been a shit of a teenager, heck even Gail said she and her childhood friends would convince their parents that they were staying at each other's houses and secretly go drinking in a field.

Ana wasn't mad about the sneaking out. She really wasn't. She was mad that Teddy had deliberately put Ipacc in Luke's drink to 'spike him' and she was furious that he'd run off and left Luke wriggling in pain, but walking in on a gang hit was not Teddy's fault. It was the case of a wrong place at the wrong time; her son could have gone to any club, any park, any house in the city and he'd gone to the club Stefano Esposito Jr intended to murder a man within. Slick's actions were not Teddy's fault.

It was hard not to blame Teddy for Christian but Ana knew how much Teddy was loved by his father and she also knew that Christian would have died for Teddy without a second thought. Christian didn't blame Teddy and so neither did Ana.

"How's Tay?" Teddy asked, Ana touched to hear her son use the formidable bodyguard's nickname the kids had given him when they were younger, "He's not come to see me yet."

"He's floored with his medication," Ana admitted, smiling weakly, "He visited you every night you were unconscious though. In fact he slept on your bed with you."

Teddy frowned, "Did he?"

"Yeah, he was here most nights. The doctors were furious," Ana chuckled, he'd kind of spoon into you and bury his face into your neck."

"I think I remember that," Teddy admitted, pulling a strained face and laying back in his bed.

"What do you remember?" Ana pressed gently, curious to know if the doctors were right; that Teddy had been able to hear.

"I remember smelling Taylor," Teddy said and Ana noticed he was getting upset, "I smelt him. I smelt the hospital and then I smelt him. Like a muh-musk smell," he croaked, forcing his words out, "And Phoebe was singing at somepoint."

"She brought you a radio," Ana nodded, squeezing his hand, "She thought you'd like music."

"I couldn't sing with her," Teddy choked, "I couldn't sing. I couldn't tell anyone I luh-loved them, mom, it was horrible. I kept thinking about Ryan getting shot and seeing him on the news."

"Shhh, don't get upset, it's over now," Ana insisted, not wanting him to exert his weakened body, "Teddy, calm down, it's okay."

"It's not!" Teddy croaked, covering his face with his hands.

Which was when he noticed his missing ear.

"What the fuck?!" he shouted mid sob, "Where's my ear?"

Shit, he was starting to panic.

Ana pressed the buzzer button to have his doctor or nurse come in, holding her son's hands away from the bandage on the side of his ear. Welch had said that someone –Damen no doubt- had shot Teddy's ear clean off, a bullet having managed to get just that close to her son's ear. She didn't want to upset him right now by telling him how close to a headshot he'd gotten, but she knew she'd have to say something.

"Where's my fucking ear?!"

"You lost it in the gunfire, Ted. Someone shot it," Ana said honestly, "It's okay though; the doctors have cleaned it and we'll get you surgery to try and fix it. It'll be okay, Ted. Honestly. Try and calm down. Deep breaths, remember?"

Teddy nodded and tried taking in a deep breath but it was too late; he was already having a panic attack, his machinery going off around them. Ana looked up and nodded at the nurse who hurried through the door, a doctor behind her.

"Hello, Mr Grey, you're looking more alert today," the nurse said calmly, the doctor checking Teddy over. Ana watched them for a second, but she brought her eyes back to Teddy and kept his gaze, smiling as warmly and as reassuringly as possible to the young Christian Grey before her.

"It's okay, Teddy," Ana promised, watching her son as the doctor decided to give him something for his attack, "It's alright, Ted."

Teddy nodded, trying his best to keep doing his slow breathing, holding Ana's hand so tightly that his knuckles went white.

.

.

 **That evening,**

 **Francis Avenue,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington.**

 **.**

Luke didn't drive straight to the mansion; to fuck was he going to go straight there.

He needed to fuck this Damen guy up and he intended to do it now when he was in the killing mood.

The drive from Canada was fucking shit. Danni had gone home in Craig's car so that Luke had her mini cooper to his disposal but it had been the single worst drive of his life. He'd no one to talk to and he couldn't sing along to his favourite music like he would usually because his jaw was wired shut and it limited his fucking movement. It was so fucking depressing that he'd spent a large proportion of this drive crying.

That's right.

He was a fucking Navy SEAL and he was crying in his car because he couldn't speak, couldn't sing, couldn't call his loved ones to chat on the drive.

And he had to cry silently too because his body physically couldn't sob and weep like he desperately wanted to which was just so fucking ironic.

He'd pulled up for something to eat but the diner didn't do soup and everything else was solid. Starving, he was about to disappear back to Danni's car to cry some more when a random woman had noticed his struggles and gave him some of her infant daughter's baby food.

Broccolis, pears and peas; yum…NAT.

He'd taken it and tried to use a straw wedged through the gap at the back of his teeth but the shit was so thick he'd had to water it down.

That had seriously made him gag which panicked him; how the fuck did he throw up with his wire shut?

He'd stopped 'eating' when he realised he was struggling to keep down what little he'd slurped down, deciding that going hungry was the better solution.

Before rolling up to Damen's, Luke had gone to his gun locker. Danni thought his guns were sexy, she got seriously turned on when she saw him with his piece on his hip to the point where she'd demand he fuck her still in his work clothes. But neither liked guns around the girls. For that reason, Luke rented a gun locker where his bigger 'collectables' were kept out of reach of his kids. Sure he kept his glocks at the house in his lock box, but the real monster rifles he had were at this storage unit.

He'd swung past there, grabbed his rifle and his spare KA-BAR knife and went to the address Welch had given him.

Except, for fuck sake, the place was swarming with cops, FBI and fuck knows who else.

Luke had known, deep down, that there was no way Damen hadn't skipped town, but he'd hoped and prayed and begged God for the chance to avenge his family. Or at least asked God for the opportunity to enter the premises when there was no witnesses and look for clues and evidence as to where Damen had gone. Then, and only then, would Luke be able to sleep at night.

He didn't want to walk through the grand front door of the mansion and go straight to his family. He was beyond hungry by this point and thirsty and needed a piss and a shit and a shower and new clothes that didn't have watery baby food spilt down the front. He also needed a moment to compose himself before seeing his daughters for the first time since he'd rescued them, having hoped to rid the world for Damen before seeing them.

So Luke walked into the Taylor's cottage, greeted in their private little garden by Jason's ugly, old bulldog who'd been getting watched by one of the Taylors friends during this whole ordeal.

"Hey Lessshlay," Luke greeted, Lesley, rubbing the wrinkled brute's face. Still to this day Luke had no idea who Jason had looked at this ugly fucker and called him 'Lesley'. Who the fuck called a male dog Lesley when he was clearly a Zeus or a Hulk or a Ramsay. Not Lesley.

Still the dog seemed pleased to see Luke, licking his hand and 'wurping' instead of barking. He walked ahead and Luke followed, trying not to stare directly at the dog's maaaaaaaasive balls as they swung rhythmically in time with his strides.

Luke opened the Taylor's back door and listened, "C'aig? Renolds? Mei?" he called and then listened again.

No one answered.

Luke sighed and put his coat on the counter, squeezing the bridge of his nose. Gail kept all of their linen and towels in an airing cupboard which Luke raided, grabbing a hand cloth and one of the fluffy pink bathsheets. Next he rummaged for something liquid that he could eat but there was really nothing which sucked ass. He'd have to ask Danni to go to the shops for something to eat because he couldn't face going out with his mouth like it was.

Slowly he crept upstairs, intent on using Jason's massive free standing bathtub to unwind after that horrible drive alone. Once he was calm, clean and a little bit more presentable he'd go next door and meet his daughters; be their strong, supportive, brave father.

God he missed them. Luke couldn't honestly wait to just smell them, inhale their familiar scent and snuggle them tightly in his arms. Eddie, Isla…they were his whole world, his whole life. His reason for doing this dangerous job; to provide a future that neither he nor Danni had when they were younger.

Smiling as he thought of his daughters, Luke opened the bedroom door and-

"Fuck, that'sh a dick," Luke laughed, turning his back on the very naked Craig and Reynolds. In Jason's bed. This was going to be brilliant blackmail.

"Don't you knock?!" Craig shouted, Luke catching sight of his naked black body grabbing the hanging dressing gown, "For fuck sake! All the Sawyers are next door."

"Besht Baff tub in housh," Luke laughed, turning back towards the messed up bed where Reynolds was lying with a pillow over his junk. Oh god, Luke hoped that was Jason's goose feathers, "I did shout."

"Well obviously we didn't hear you," Craig growled, Reynolds getting redder and redder with embarrassment.

"You got a nish ash." Luke complimented, Craig looking at him in confusion.

"What did you say?" he huffed.

"You," Luke pointed at him, "Ash," he added, slapping his own ass before nodding back at Craig and giving him a thumbs up.

"You think I have a nice ass?" Craig asked curiously, anger leaving him when Luke nodded and tried his best to smile at the smaller of the two gay men. It clearly made him happy, turning to beam at his husband, "Luke says I have a nice ass, Reynolds. I knew I could turn him gay."

Luke laughed but didn't say anything, not because he was interested in being turned gay, but rather he didn't think he'd be able to communicate any of his usual wicked one-liners.

"You wont tell Jason we were, you know," Reynolds asked, still blushing badly.

"Dependsh what my shilence is worth," Luke winked, leaving the dishevelled gay men and heading into the ensuite, locking the door behind him in case Craig decided to chance his luck at 'turning' Luke.

.

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **Preston Royal infirmary,**

 **Victoria bc,**

 **Canada**

.

Jason was in pain but the pain was good.

The pain meant he hadn't had any medication which meant he wasn't going to get sick. Eventually, however, he'd have to return to his bed and receive the pain relief his body needed because the last round of morphine was wearing off and the more it did, the harder it was not to cry out whenever he accidently jerked his arm the wrong way.

Not that Gail was helping his case right now.

Grinning at his wife, he pulled up his pants and retied them at the front with his good hand. Gail was pulling up her lacy panties, having stepped out of them when Jason had dragged her into this janitor's closet.

"Stop grinning," Gail scoffed, "That was bad of you. You're supposed to be recovering."

"I didn't do anything," Jason said innocently, though the bite on Gail's neck said otherwise. He went to pick up her bag for her but jarred his bad arm painfully. He gasped in pain and nearly fell flat on his face, Gail actually having to steady him upright, "It's okay."

"No, it's not. You're exhausted and injured and well overdue your pain medication and we just fucked in a hospital cupboard," Gail mumbled, "None of this is okay."

"You missed me, baby," Jason charmed, though it was hard to play it cool when his arm was physically burning. Shit he needed that damn medication after all. Oh goody. Maybe tonight he wont throw up on himself.

Gail turned around and grabbed his chin, pulling his lips down to hers and whacking him with the mother of all kisses. He felt it go straight to his dick and, despite the numbing pain in his arm, he was totally ready for round two. She could tell, too, because she grabbed him through his hospital pants and fondled him. He pressed up against her body, kissing her back whilst his good hand grabbed a handful of her ass.

"You. Don't ever scare me like that again," Gail mumbled, biting his lip whilst he shamelessly pushed his hips forward against her hand for more friction, "I mean it; you may be the hero of the hour to these guys but you're the hero of my entire life and I don't want to ever lose you like I thought I had."

"I promise," Jason mumbled, though his attention was torn between her cupping his balls and the stinging in his arm, "I love you."

"Not as much as I love you," Gail mumbled and pulled her hand away, leaving him with a boner and a wet spot. Fucking beautiful. And he'd no underwear on. Absolutely brilliant.

Because his arm was fucked, he'd taken to not wearing boxers because the medication he was on had his stomach drop randomly through the day and it was a pain in the ass to pull off pants and boxers with the one hand. Socks were the same; bending his body was hard with his sling but it was ridiculously challenging to put a sock on comfortably with one arm.

"This sucks."

Gail turned to face her husband and realised what he'd done. She giggled to herself, shaking her head, "Really Sailor? More precum?"

"Hey, it's been a long time. Plus I thought you were going to blow me," Jason huffed, trying to tuck himself up into his waistband, "Fuck my hand's sticky. Lick it clean."

"I'm not licking your hand," Gail scoffed.

"Why not? It's just like normal cum," Jason argued, holding his hand out.

"Then you do it," Gail challenged, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm not doing that; that's practically cannibalism."

"Cannibalism?" Gail echoed and shook her head, grabbing her coat, "If you think that's cannibalism then I'm sorry but I'm out. I'm not going to perform any more cannibalistic acts upon you."

Jason laughed and smacked her ass, then winced at the strain that caused. He wasn't looking forward to his medication but he needed relief from this burning. Quietly, they both exited the cupboard, Jason being careful to cover his pants with the tail of his shirt as Gail walked him back towards his bedroom where a very pissed off nurse greeted him.

With one last killer kiss, Gail left him for the night and the grumpy nurse slammed his body with pain relief. At least the nausea knocked off the boner. Jason couldn't honestly wait to get back home, even if he'd have a pitstop in a rehab facility. He missed the city, his dog, America in general.

He decided to go and visit Grey, not wanting to wallow in his queasy misery when he could be bothering someone else. Visiting Teddy just didn't feel right now that he was awake. He had to thank Ted for saving his life but Jason wasn't sure just how to do that yet.

Christian was sat watching the financial news, so engrossed that he barely noticed Jason coming in.

"You look like shit," Jason called, Christian finally pulling his eyes from the television screen.

"'Chicks dig scars' according to Sawyer," Christian chuckled, sitting up and muting the television, "It's good to see you. How are you getting on?"

"Slow and steady," Jason nodded, "My meds suck so I may vomit, but I'll try not to."

"Please don't," Christian smiled, "I'm already an infection risk with this skin graft," he said, nodding to his cushioned arm, "It's taking well I think. They'll remove the bandage soon and we'll see if it's been a success or not."

Jason nodded, glad to see Christian alive. The last time he'd really seen his boss was in the forest where he was going into shock over horrific burn injuries. He didn't look great but he was alive which was amazing and testimony to the emergency responders who'd worked tirelessly on him.

"Where's Gail?" Christian asked then.

"She's going to dinner with Soph, Mitt, Ana and Pheebs," Jason said.

"Aaah, sorry, I forgot Ana mentioned they were having dinner," Christian nodded.

With Jason, Christian and Teddy awake and doing well, the women and Mitt had decided to take the night off of visiting and try and catch up on sleep. They'd a table at a pizzeria close by and would maybe have a drink or two but the plan was really to relax and recover after what had been a stressful few days.

It was very well deserved, Jason thought, for all the women but in his eyes especially Gail. Going from her own surgery to flying out and being with him during his honestly awed him; he'd a wonderful wife and a fantastic best friend. She deserved to dress up nice, have some 'me time' with the other girls and then sleep in as long as her body needed.

Plus Gail had looked lovely in that dress earlier when she'd come to visit him, especially with her panties round her ankles.

"Your wife's been amazing, Christian," Jason said honestly, "After what Stephen's death did to her, I wasn't honestly expecting her to be that strong but," he nodded, "she really went above and beyond. Gail was saying earlier that if it hadn't been for your wife, she'd have broken down long before now. You're a very lucky guy to have her beside you."

"I'd say the same to you; Gail brought me breakfast muffins. How aren't you a fat fuck?" Christian smirked, though Jason could tell his comments had touched him.

"I work out from four am, Sir, and I tend to eat clean," Jason chuckled, "Friday is my junk food day; I let myself have a bar of chocolate."

"Oh, living life on the edge there," Christian smirked, shaking his head and looking back towards the News. His face fell into a snarling frown and he whacked the mute off by the time Jason looked up.

Stefano Esposito Senior was on the screen, in front of his mansion home, providing a press statement to a large crowd of media workers. Three bodyguards were beside the frail old man, as he addressed those before him.

"… _I understand that my son was a troubled soul and suspect to a police murder investigation involving Theodore Grey and Jason Taylor, family to the Prince of Seattle himself, Christian Grey. My wife and daughters condemn his behaviour and our thoughts and prayers are extended out to the family of Derek Berthnal, who was victim to my son's heinous crime. We would like to offer our appreciation to Grey and Taylor for working with the police to try and bring my son to justice. As a father, I would like to have seen my son offered the therapy and psychological support that it is now apparent he desperately needed…_ "

"We didn't work with the police; we fucked off and hid because going into witness protection was fucking suicide!" Jason scoffed furiously, in utter shock as the frail and elderly father of their adversary gave an utterly wishy washy shit account of what had happened with Slick.

"… _My son's murderer is very much still at large. My wife and daughters are heartbroken, as am I. As a family we will work tirelessly with the Seattle Police Department and the FBI as well as the Canadian Police to find the man responsible for the murdered my baby boy, Junior. He was a criminal but he deserved a trial and the possibility of redemption for his sins. I only hope that with his passing he has found peace at last. No questions."_

Stefano Senior leant towards his beautiful, young wife and kissed her softly, comforting her and his crying daughters as they turned with their body guards and walked back into their mansion.

"He killed his son!" Jason exclaimed, waving at the television as if he was watching the Seahawks losing a game, "He called Damen. I swear. He called Damen and had him murder Slick!"

"Do you know that it was Slick's father who called Damen?" Christian said quietly and calmly, "Is there evidence?"

"No," Jason growled, "But I know what I saw and it was Stefano Senior who ordered the hit. I swear, Christian."

"I believe you. But the courts wont believe you, not with the Esposito lawyers or with their men in the SPD," Christian mused, "As far as the police are going to be concerned; Damen murdered Slick and his father, an ex Gang Leader turned sex industry producer, is innocent of the crime."

"Bullshit," Jason growled, "Absolutely fucking bullshit."

Christian nodded, then picked up his mobile after it vibrated on the side of his bed. He smiled momentarily and then found himself engrossed in the text message.

"That's Ros," Christian finally said, looking back at Jason, "She's just had the insurance company on the phone. Someone's already paid for everyone's medical fees, including Gail's and Ryan's."

"Who?" Jason groaned but he was almost one hundred percent sure he knew the answer.

"Esposito Industries," Christian said, "They've made a donation and covered everyone. Including the fucking Mounties that got shot helping us."

Jason went to speak, but the news that Slick's father had tracked Ryan and Gail to their hospital in London and had known where they were all this time made him so sick to his stomach that he threw up on the floor.


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N; Sorry I've not posted in a while; Christmas is getting hectic. I've decided to speed this story along a little to hopefully get me motivated into finishing it before the year's done!**

 **Hope everyone's doing well; what's Santa bringing you this year?**

 **D x**

 **.**

 **Chapter Thirty Six**

 **.**

 **Grey Mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington**

 **.**

Luke lay with Isla on his chest, stroking his baby girl's hair softly and relishing in her smell. She'd been asleep for half an hour now, having cried herself to the point of exhaustion, and now that she was completely asleep he allowed himself to cry too.

How could anyone possibly lay their hands on his girls?

Slick's goons had intercepted Danni, Eddie and Isla on their way to their personal safe house and kidnapped them for leverage. They'd identified Luke and tracked his family all because it had been his car Slick's men had seen Jason and Teddy jump in shortly after Ted witnessed the shooting.

Slick's men had bagged his daughters and his wife up, beat them and then locked them in containers within his own building downtown. Isla had been threatened and leered at and beaten mercilessly considering that she was only a child. Eddie had been groped and threatened with rape. Luke's teenager couldn't talk about her experience yet, but he felt her flinch when he'd touched her shoulder earlier tonight.

Danni, for the most part, had been unharmed. She'd been physically beaten, but no one had threatened her with rape. Instead, they'd threatened her with the girls which was perhaps the worst punishment of all for any parent. It broke Luke's heart it he could no longer keep up his strong façade as he buried his nose into Isla's hair.

It was hard to remain calm but even harder not to hate Teddy for what his daughters had had to endure for that son of a bitch.

"I love you," Luke mumbled, stroking Isla's back softly.

Both girls had inherited their mother's Mediterranean good looks; olive skin, slim figures, dazzling smiles. The only thing the poor souls had inherited from him were his greenish eyes and his thick black hair. Poor Eddie had had a mono-brow since she was four.

They were his angels, however, the most beautiful little ladies he'd ever met and he absolutely doted on being their father. Not a second went by that he wouldn't want to sit in their company watching some girly make-up tutorial and play the blank canvas for his girls to practice their eyeshadow skills.

"Are you coming to bed?"

Luke turned slightly and spotted Danni at the door, shoulder against the wooden threshold as she studied him and Isla curiously.

"Sure," he tried to say, picking Isla up off his chest before sliding himself off the bed and tucking her in, "Ed?"

"Ed's in her room sleeping," Danni nodded, "I've just checked in on her."

"Good," Luke sighed, standing up and turning to his wife.

She looked as exhausted as he felt; her blonde hair tied up in a messy bun, wearing her shorts and a hooded top for pyjamas. She fixed him with a smile however, rubbing his arm as he walked past her out of Isla's room.

"It was good of Mrs Grey to let us stay here," Danni said, her hand still on his back as though she were guiding him to their bedroom across the hall.

Luke nodded, not able to say much anyway. It was true; Ana had done them a massive favour by letting them live here for the time being. It meant that the girls all had a safe place to find themselves once more. There were round the clock bodyguards, trained protection dogs and also a selection of cops who met Welch's approved list. This house was the safest place in the world right now.

Danni pulled him into the teal decorated room and had him sit on the large bed. She sighed, shaking her head as she gently stroked his wet cheeks, "I need you to man up," she said firmly, surprising him.

"Huh?" Luke frowned, watching as Danni walked away to the bathroom and came back with a flannel which she threw into his lap.

"You didn't marry a pussy, and neither did I," Danni stated, crossing her arms over her chest, "Stop feeling sorry for yourself and what's happened and focus on what you're going to do to rectify the situation."

"Shlick'sh dead," Luke growled, glaring at his wife as he dried his eyes, "It'sh dealt wiff."

"No, it's not dealt with," Danni pointed out, "Damen is still alive. I want to hear what you're planning to do about that."

"I'll kill 'im," Luke snarled, "For what he did."

"How are you going to do it?" Danni pressed.

"I'll find 'im. I'll cut 'im up, bit by bit," Luke promised, "An I'll bury 'im acrossh the count'y," he added, feeling his face heating up with anger and rage.

"And I'll be there, handing you the cleaver," Danni assured him, "We don't let people fuck with our family, do we?"

"No," Luke nodded firmly.

"You and me, babe. We're going to make that scummy cunt wish he was never born for what he did to our family, right?"

"Right," Luke snapped.

"I don't care what it takes; I want that fucker dead," Danni insisted.

Luke nodded again and then felt something snap at the front of his head, like a bubble of growing pressure being popped right above his eye. The tears had subsided, the woeful sorrow was over. All there was left was anger and hatred and lust for revenge.

Danni physically jumped when Luke launched himself up against her, pinning her curvy petite body against the wall. He'd barely noticed his breathing becoming angry pants, grabbing Danni's wrists and pinning them above her head.

"I will kill him," he reiterated as clear as day, his green-blue eyes burning into hers.

She laughed, using his tight grip of her hands to jump up and wrap her legs tightly around his waist, "I love you," she whispered against his ear, biting down on his lobe and tugging aggressively as he used one of his hands to unfasten his belt, "I fucking love you."

.

 **.**

 **Five days later…**

 **Sunflower Building,**

 **Seattle Medical Rehabilitation Centre,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington,**

 **.**

 **.**

"How are you settling in, Ted?" Soph asked as she walked into his room in the rehab centre. He couldn't really remember getting here, having spent most of his days sleeping off the relentless course of medication being administered to him. From what he remembered, he was about an hour from home, close to Seattle University. Taylor and Dad were here somewhere too but they were in a different section, possibly in a different building because they didn't require half as much medical assistance as Teddy did. Dad was walking now and, apparently, so was Taylor.

Whenever he had visitors, Teddy found himself asking for the ugly marine but he was yet to receive a visitation from him. Mom had said that, every night before Ted regained consciousness, Taylor would sleep beside him and to an extent Teddy remembered it.

"It's okay," Teddy smiled, shifting as best he could in his bed and staring at the angel before him which was Sophie Taylor.

Angel was perhaps too weak a word, Ted realised as he watched her now. She was more heavenly, more pristine and beautiful than he'd ever remembered her being. He thought back to the naked childhood picture in the Secret Best Friend Lodge of Jason and Calvin paddling by some random lake. Teddy had seen Sophie in her father then, both sharing a strong jaw and lopsided smile, bright blue eyes and gingery-blonde hair.

Growing up, her hair had always been a talking point; Jason and her mother had kept it long and it had sat in beautiful natural strawberry scented waves. As an adult, however, Sophie had had it cut shorter. She'd also lost her childish freckles with the sun in Cambodia, her skin a glorious brown shade. Dressed in baggy harem pants and a tank top, Soph looked like a worldly traveller; an absolute dream to Teddy.

"Do you remember getting here?" Sophie pressed, studying the Get Well Soon cards to Teddy's left on the bedside cabinet.

"I remember the nurse. She was cute," Teddy coughed and sighed, looking around his new room. He'd be here for the foreseeable future. He'd learnt from the nurses and doctors that injuries like what they'd endured were individual. Taylor had damaged blood vessels, an artery and shattered the bones in his arm but was, apparently, on his feet and mobile. Dad had also damaged his arm but was in constant pain which limited how freely he could move.

The doctors weren't truly sure how long it would be before Teddy would be able to leave the Rehab centre but he was determined; he wanted to be home, he wanted this nightmare to be over and be with his family so badly.

He looked around his new room again and sighed sadly. It was smaller than his one back home but the lack of furnishings made it feel more empty and clinical. Gail had done her best to make it homely for his arrival and had brought him his own bedsheets and fleece bed throw. There were cards on his bedside cabinet but Teddy soon realised that the cards were from family and not friends; those low life idiots he'd socialised with had yet to reach out and offer him any form of comfort which sucked.

Teddy was realising that the troubled kids he hung with, the kids who he snuck into nightclubs with, got drunk with, did drugs with…they weren't actually friends. Surely if they were, they'd have tried to make contact by now. It was a thought which terrified Teddy; he had no friends.

"I brought you a plant," Sophie nodded, pointing towards the poorest excuse of a weed in a pot. It was sat on top of his chest of drawers and looked as though it needed some serious tender love and care, "It's a little shit looking just now but if you water it and keep it in the sun it'll get better. Mitt's big on gardening."

Ah…the boyfriend.

Teddy hated how decent a guy Mitt was. After all, he'd dropped everything to travel around the world to be with Soph and her family during this tough time. It sucked major balls to Ted because he could never be that good a guy.

"Tell him I'll look after it," Teddy smiled thinly and then winced as he shifted himself wrong, his stomach still incredibly tender, "How's your dad?"

"Well, he's writing," Sophie nodded, "And drawing. Just trying to work the muscles in his arm. There's some nerve damage but it's just around the wound itself so he's got the use of his hand. He's been incredibly lucky to still have his arm. Apparently a weaker man would have needed an amputation."

"Geez. Pays to have guns of steel, huh?" Teddy chuckled.

"Exactly. I heard Mr Grey's not been so lucky with his arm," Sophie sighed softly, offering him condolences as she set up his iPad for him.

Teddy nodded and forced a smile, "I don't believe it; I reckon dad'll defy the specialists," he insisted, trying to remain positive and optimistic because- _shit shit shit_!- he was the fucking reason his dad was losing the use in hid goddamn arm.

Mom insisted that dad had forgiven Ted, that dad would have died for Teddy if he'd needed to, but that didn't make Ted feel any less guilty. There was so much that his father wouldn't be able to do if he lost the use of his arm. Like riding his goddamn sports cars, flying, even just pulling out a wedgie.

"I better go see dad, actually. He's in another building," Sophie smiled, "Gail was helping him get comfortable though so I thought I'd leave them alone for a bit. You'd think as our parents got older they'd stop with sex, huh?"

"I used to believe that people over thirty shouldn't have sex full stop," Teddy laughed, "I tell dad all the time that it's gross. He's a dinosaur now."

"I'm sure that went down a treat when you told him that," Sophie laughed hard, shaking her head at him.

"Yeah, he wasn't happy with me that day," Teddy nodded, biting his lip, "He's not really ever been happy with me. I've got a lot of people to make it up to."

"I think you just need to be a better man," Sophie said softly as she picked up the cards on his desk one by one. "Ana and Mr Grey. Phoebe. Ryan and Nora. Reynolds, Mei and Craig. Gail and Dad. Luke, Danni, Isla and Eden. Welch and Miora. John and Rhian," she restacked them, "These people want to see you be the best you can be, Ted. I think if you put the effort into turning your life around and grasping some sense of normality and happiness then you'll do them proud. You'll do me proud for sure."

Teddy nodded, the pointed towards an unopened envelope on his dresser, "Could you pass me that?"

"Of course," Sophie said, grabbing the envelope and handing it to him. Slowly, because it hurt to move, Ted ripped the white encasing and slowly pulled out another Get Well Soon card. This one was more glittery, with a bouquet of multi-coloured flowers motif on the front, "Who's it from?"

Teddy opened it and felt his eyes water, "Uncle Elliot. And Kate. And Ava."

Inside was a little passage written in Kate's swirly bubble writing. Teddy struggled to read it with the tears pouring and obscuring his vision.

'We don't know what's happened, Teddy, but we're cheering you on. Get well, get help, get better. We believe in you, Tedster. We're here forever if you need us, never make yourself a stranger.

Aunty Kate, Uncle Elliot and Ava

x x x'

"Shit that's rough," Ted said, clearing his throat and trying to make light of the situation, "Shit."

"Dad says the Greys were under lockdown, too," Sophie said, "I wondered why I hadn't seen your Aunt Mia posting on social media for the last few weeks. She's had her internet access revoked by your dad until everything's cleared up."

"I…I never thought about the reprucussions on my aunts and uncle," Teddy admitted.

"I think, after the Jack Hyde fiasco no one seems to talk about," Sophie said with obvious disgust at being left in the dark about important matters, "your dad doesn't like taking risks. Apparently everyone had to report to Safe Houses where Welch has had guards watching them."

"I'm so glad Grandpa Ray, and Nana and Papa aren't here to see this clusterfuck," Teddy huffed, "What about Carla?"

Sophie pulled a face, "I don't think your dad made any plans to protect her. Or that's the gist I got from Dad; the pain relief is making him really sick and loose-lipped. Good thing Ryan changes the security passwords, huh?"

"I can't believe Dad's not thought to protect Carla," Teddy said, then laughed as painlessly as he could, "That's hilariously bad. All these years and he still hates her. Bet mom doesn't know."

"Probably not," Sophie laughed, placing Elliot's card next to the others just as Jesus himself walked into Teddy's room.

Teddy had to force a smile, "Hi, Mitt."

"Hello, Ted," Mitt said, clasping his hands as though he were praying and bowing his head, "I was just coming to see if you were ready, Sophie?"

Damn, his English was fantastic. And he dressed well too. And he probably didn't have to piss in a bag strapped to his leg like Ted did.

"I was just saying bye to Ted," Sophie smiled brightly at her boyfriend. Mitt. Fuuuuuuuuuuck.

"Are you going to be okay here?" she asked Teddy then, "You don't need us to stay?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. You go and see your dad. He surely can't still be christening his room with Gail, right?" Teddy joked and Sophie laughed.

"Hopefully," Sophie smiled, squeezing Teddy's hand before turning to Mitt and nodding, "Right, come on, baby. We can go see Dad and Gail for a bit then I'll show you the city."

"Wonderful," Mitt smiled brightly, revealing a beautiful set of white teeth. His chocolate brown eyes flashed towards Teddy, "See you soon, man."

"See you soon, Mitt," Teddy called, "In fact, Soph. If you're taking Mitt out in the city, use my name? The chef in the Space needle knows my family. Say you're my guests and you'll get the best seat in the house."

"Thanks Ted," Sophie grinned, turning to Mitt, "You'll love the Space Needle!"

And Ted watched on as the girl he loved left hand in hand with the man she loved, leaving him behind with a weed in a pot.

.

.

 **Meanwhile,**

 **Oak-Leaf Building,**

 **Seattle Medical Rehabilitation Centre,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington,**

.

Christian was heavily guarded, more so than usual. He literally couldn't take a shit without someone knowing and hearing him but it was a necessity until whatever Esposito was doing was made clear. Welch was working that angle, however. Christian's primary task was to get back onto his feet and recover as best he could as quickly as possible.

"… _so, you held a gun?"_

Christian laughed and shook his head, listening to his brother for the first time in weeks. Elliot and his family had willingly gone into protective lockdown at the request of Christian's security team. Mia had not, particularly when the stipulations was that she cut all ties with Social Media for security purposes. She wasn't happy with that, particularly when her main source of income came from product placement and being 'a socialite'.

"Yeah, I did," Christian chuckled, watching the nurse who was getting his pain medication ready for him. About time too because he was starting to feel his arm burning and aching once more. God, he hated thinking about it; when he thought about his flesh bubbling he felt instantly sick. He tried desperately not to think like that but it was hard when the pain was present; it was a constant reminder to how severely burnt his arm had been, "And I broke into a building to rescue Luke Sawyer's girls."

" _Fuck off,_ " Elliot laughed, the pair able to speak freely on these phones Welch provided, " _I don't believe you."_

"I swear. Luke and Reynolds pretended to be these goons and they put a bag over my head. We snuck in and then Reynolds and Luke killed some guys and took their guns. Then we found the girls in these massive containers. Because I'm a shit shot, I had to carry Isla and hold Eddie's hand. True story, man. I'm a hero," Christian continued, the nurse laughing silently as she handed him his medication and Elliot was put on loud speaker.

" _I saw that on the news! It said that it had been a gang attack_ ," Elliot exclaimed.

"Nope; that was me, big brother. I hijacked a helicopter too and evacuated us while they shot at us," Christian said smugly, "Honestly; I don't know what I've been doing paying Taylor for. I'm clearly wasted in the business world; I'm going to apply for Special Forces or something. I've obviously got a natural gift."

" _Bullshit, until the age of ten you were scared of blood,_ " Elliot teased, laughing again, _"Honestly man, it's good to hear your voice. I wasn't sure what was going on and Kate and I have been watching the news religiously trying to figure stuff out. Guess we're back to normality, huh? I saw that Esposito Senior blaming some random man for the murder of his son. Is everything good now?"_

"No," Christian said honestly, waiting until the nurse closed the door behind her. He picked up his medication and swallowed dry, "It's not good Elliot. Sure, Slick's dead, but Jason and Ted swear he was killed on his father's orders. I don't know what to make of it. Welch is dealing with the legality of it all but it's their word against Esposito Senior and there wasn't anyone else there to witness it other than this Damen guy who pulled the trigger."

" _Fucking hell, can't you guys just have one drama-free week?"_ Elliot mumbled, " _Fucking hell, Christian._ "

"I know," Christian sighed, "It is dealt with because Slick's dead, but Jason and Teddy witnessed his assassination. I'm scared that they are still at risk."

" _I thought you said that Esposito paid your medical bills?_ " Elliot reminded him.

"I know," Christian muttered, "That's why I'm so confused. And in his speech he mentioned Ted and everyone so surely that means he's no intention of gunning down my son, right? Because he and his family would be the first to be investigated."

" _True,_ " Elliot agreed, " _Shit, I need to go, Christian. Work's calling. Can I call you back later?_ "

"I may be asleep later," Christian laughed weakly, "But I will speak soon. Love you, Lelliot."

" _Love you too,_ " Elliot replied, hanging up and leaving Christian in his room alone.

His room was basic but comfy and he'd the ability to move and walk around now. Later he was going to meet Jason in the Oak-Leaf communal living room to try and play one armed pool. Of course they'd be followed by their security detail but getting to play pool would give Christian just a hint of normality which he was desperate for.

He carefully stood out of bed and readjusted his running shorts. He looked like an absolute tool but he was comfortable and these shorts were loose so he could pull them up and down easily when needed with one hand. Ana had left him a few t-shirts, all baggy and two sizes too big but that, again, was perfect because it meant that he could nearly dress himself with his wounded arm.

Taking a leak then splashing some water on his face, Christian locked his bedroom door and headed through the corridors of the Oak-Leaf building. Teddy was in another building where there was more round the clock care, Ana had said so much when she'd come to help them move in. She'd stayed all morning into the afternoon but had a few appointments to make early this evening and she intended to see Christian's brother and sister in person and let them both know exactly what had happened and what was going on. Tomorrow, she would be back with Phoebe but for the rest of the day there wasn't much else she could help with. Ted had been asleep for most of the transition from the Canadian hospital, Jason had Gail to help him and there wasn't much Ana could do to help Christian because he was still incredibly sore and grumpy from the pain caused in travelling.

Christian spotted Jason, stood by the pool table sipping a root beer. He was wearing his pyjamas, Christian noticed, a set of tartan flannel shirt and bottoms. They looked too big for him and he was tugging his dick uncomfortably. Not that Christian felt any better himself, running a hand through his wavy copper curls.

"Nice threads," Jason commented, nodding at Christian's bare legs as Christian picked up the pepsi Jason had bought him from the vending machine.

"If my arm is fucked, I might as well flaunt my sexy calves," Christian joked, grabbing the cueing aid. They were playing one handed, each man with a sling, but the rehabilitation centre had equipped the communal room with handicapped activities. He knew there was swimming and also dance classes on a Thursday evening, but handicapped pool? That had made him laugh when Ana had encouraged him to get up and about and not linger in misery tonight in his room.

"How's your room?" Jason asked, rubbing some chalk on his cue tip whilst Christian tried to organise the balls.

"It's pretty decent. The wife brought my own blankets from the mansion," Christian nodded, "And I've got my iPad so I can stream Netflix. What about yours?"

"Same, really," Jason nodded, "Gail's pretty much decorated it exactly like our bedroom back home. She's colour co-ordinated the bloody lampshade. Apparently a white shade is too clinical and wont help my energy, so she bought a pale pink one. Gotta keep the zen or whatever."

"Seriously?" Christian laughed, "Since when was Gail into energy?"

"I don't know," Jason shrugged his one good arm, "She's always been a 'spiritualist', whatever the fuck that is. Lately she's been talking about energy and energy flow. Key to a happy marriage is just to let her make the nest she wants and try not to make faces."

"Fair enough," Christian shrugged, cracking open his pepsi with difficulty. He had to use the pool table to steady the thing and crack the ring with one hand, something he'd have done in mere seconds effortlessly if he had a second hand to hold it steady with, "How's Gail anyway? Was it a decent visit?"

"Yeah," Jason coughed, "Ah, she's great. Really great, actually. She's super," he said, his ears turning crimson red, "Good visit."

"You slept with her," Christian stated, shaking his head.

"We, uh," Jason shook his head once more, "Do you want to break first?"

Fucking prude.

Christian nodded and placed the cue aid on the table before lying his cue stick upon it. The feeling was weird and incredibly uncomfortable; Christian couldn't get his brain to quite work out a way of doing this with only one arm, even with the help of a cue-aid which propped his stick up for him.

He was about to attempt his first shot when suddenly he felt an excruciating pain in his arm which nearly buckled his legs.

"Motherfucker!" he squealed because, shit, that pain had come out of nowhere and rocketed straight to a solid ten on the scale.

He'd have ended up on the floor had Jason not grabbed the scruff of his t-shirt before he went down to the floor.

"Come on," Jason groaned, straining to hold Christian with one arm, "Chairs."

With difficulty, they walked together towards a little seating area and the minute he sat down, Christian burst into tears, "Fuck this hurts," he groaned, "Fuck, call the doctor."

"I have," Jason promised, having hit a nurse button in passing to the sofas, "It's okay though; you leant on your arm when you bent over. That's all it was," Jason pointed out, handing him the box of tissues from the table in front of them.

"Fucking hell," Christian mumbled wiping his cheeks, "Fuck."

"It's okay," Jason promised, looking over the shoulder as the living area door opened, "Hey there. Mr Grey's pressed on his arm and is in a lot of pain," he said to the nurse who'd come through to offer assistance.

.

 **Later that evening…**

 **Ryan's Apartment,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington,**

 **.**

Ana had never been to Ryan's apartment before and she didn't honestly know what exactly to expect. Ryan was complete nerd; he'd all the new consoles, created his own electrical equipment in his spare time, collected figurines and magic the gathering cards, dressed in surfer shorts and novelty t-shirts all through the year…he reminded Ana of one of Kate's ex boyfriends in college; a hapless stoner who wasn't interested in growing up.

But Ryan was also a former US Ranger. Half his body was tattooed in respect to his experiences in warzones; red, black and grey coloured tanks, blackhawks, guns, boots, bullets, flowers, the words 'Sua Sponte' and 'Rangers Lead The Way' artistically coloured into the tracks of the tank and the shadow of the helicopter. It was beautiful, Ana had never really enjoyed tattoos but she did like Ryan's, particularly when he admitted that it had been his own drawing.

It was safe to say that Ryan was two men; the mighty soldier who'd fought for his country in one of the toughest branches of the military…and also the lovable geek who'd lay on his tummy with Teddy and play Batman with Teddy's legos on his lunch hour.

So far, it appeared he had a nice apartment, incredibly close to the Grey's own mansion. There was a carpark which she pulled up in, walking up a footpath around some pretty greenery. Ryan's was a groundfloor and she found it relatively easily, knocking on the dark blue door before stepping back and smiling; she was excited to see the man who'd saved her husband, especially now he was truly on the road to recovery.

Ryan answered the door relatively quickly, dressed in his surfer shorts and a black T-shirt with Peter Griffin on the chest. He'd had his hair cut and styled back to the subtle spikes he liked, looking a lot younger than he truly was.

"Mrs Grey," Ryan smiled and stepped aside to let her in, "Come in."

"Please, call me Ana. This wont take long; I just wanted to come and say hi," Ana said, stepping in and wiping her boots on the doormat, noticing it had Darth Vader on it.

"Please come in, Ana," Ryan repeated, "Could you take your shoes off? I do the Japanese thing."

Ana nodded and kicked her boots off before walking ahead. She turned to make sure Ryan was following and frowned when she caught sight of him straightening her boots and pointing them perfectly in line with the wall.

She didn't comment, knowing the man had very high functioning autism, something which hadn't been diagnosed until well into his adult years mainly due to the fact that as a child his 'odd behaviour' was written off as trauma from being between foster homes.

Ana found herself seated in an incredibly tidy room. Beyond tidy, actually; there was not one single thing out of place. The walls were white, the carpet was dark wooden oak, to the far side were beautiful French windows leading out to a patio where a hammock stood. It was all incredibly pristine and immaculate, totally different to Sawyer's place, and it was very open planned with the kitchen tucked in a corner behind a half wall.

There was one thing which caught Ana's eye however, hanging above her on the sofa.

"Is that a framed picture of Melissa McCarthy on your wall?" Ana laughed, nodding towards a single coloured poster of the comedian actress, "What on earth?"

Ryan was blushing and squirming by the kettle as he made them both cups of tea, "I got that from Reynolds for Secret Santa," he admitted, unable to make eye contact, "He also bought me a Melissa McCarthy phone case and socks. I have a ridiculous crush on her, you see."

"You do?" Ana asked in shock. It was funny to think he'd a picture of Melissa McCarthy and yet there was no evidence of his long term girlfriend Nora having ever been here.

"She's my ideal woman," Ryan shrugged, knowing exactly how Ana liked her tea as he brought two mugs over to the coffee table, "I just love her. In fact, I have all her movies in my Game Room."

Of course he had a Game Room.

It made Ana laugh a little; both Ryan and Christian had lost their mothers to addiction. Both boys had needed rescued from their mother's houses. Both men were exceptionally intelligent. Both men grew up and pursued stressful occupations, Ryan in the Military and Christian in the business world. But most importantly; both men had play rooms, only Ryan's was filled with games and consoles and Christian's was an S&M lair.

"But…why her?" Ana chuckled.

"Why not her?" Ryan challenged, "She's hilarious; I love her humour. I love her Sean Spicer sketches on SNL. I think she's gorgeous, and she has a nice voice and beautiful eyes and," he smiled, "I'm seriously in love with her."

"That's…possibly the weirdest thing I've learned about you," Ana smiled.

"Well, everyone has a celebrity crush," Ryan said as he sat down with a coffee and a cup of tea for Ana, "Thank you for coming round."

"Thank you for having me," Ana smiled and then leant in to hug him. Ryan sat awkwardly, not really sure what to do, but he didn't shove her off, "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm getting there," Ryan nodded, leaning back as she started to let him go, "I have a lot of work to do yet. Rehab. But it's going to be okay; Nora's moving in for a few months to help me get strong again."

"Brilliant, Ryan," Ana nodded, picking up her handbag and handing Ryan a Get Well Soon card as well as a Welcome Home card. She'd yet to tell the man that the Esposito's had paid for his healthcare, deciding to let the man heal up and enjoy being home for another few days before breaking that news to him. Unlike everyone else, Ryan had insisted he go to his own home to recover in peace. Grey Mansion was incredibly busy with the Sawyers and the Reynolds and now Gail, Ana and Phoebe moving back in, the man wanting to be with his girlfriend in peace. He had completely decked out his house, however. Everything was state of the art and ultramodern; he'd designed his own security systems which were unmarketable and so unknown to the best intruders. Heck, it was Ryan who'd created the security for GEH and the Mansion; the man was a genius.

Luke had once said that he'd created electric windows and doors which he turned on at night to deter would-be burglars. Ana wasn't sure if she believed Luke or not, but she'd learnt to never be surprised by Ryan's capabilities.

"It is," Ryan smiled, "How is everyone?"

"Everyone's doing well. Working hard," Ana nodded, "Ted's asking for you. I think he's hoping you'll maybe bring your playstation to the hospital so you could both play games."

"Seriously?" Ryan asked with a wide smile.

It had been years since Ted had actually wanted to spend time with the man who'd protected him since he was in diapers.

"Yes," Ana assured him, "Gail's expecting a visit from you too; she's missed you dearly. I think Taylor has too. Both Ted and Jason thought you'd died when they saw you being stretchered out of Escala on the news."

"Geez," Ryan chuckled, "I better head on over soon then, huh?"

"I'd say so," Ana nodded then looked at her watch, "Christian had insisted I come and show face, Ryan, just to let you know that my husband and I are here for you and will pay whatever you need to get yourself back to fighting strength. We'll never be able to repay you for saving his life, Ryan, but we'll try. Whatever you need; it's yours."

"Aw, shucks," Ryan chuckled, waving his hand, "It's my job to keep Mr Grey safe."

"There's a difference between keeping him safe and taking a bullet to the neck," Ana reminded Ryan, squeezing his hand, "Thank you for saving his life."

"You're most welcome, Mrs Gre-Ana. I'd do it in a heartbeat," Ryan assured her, "Thank you for checking in on me. I do appreciate it. I'll keep you up to date with my recovery."

"Please," Ana nodded and stood, "I'd better not keep you and Melissa McCarthy," she chuckled.

"Ah, you weren't keeping me from anything. I was literally sleeping in bed and watching The Heat," Ryan said as he walked her to the door, "You know? The movie with Sandra Bullock. Cop movie?"

"I watched it with Kate at the movies," Ana laughed as she pulled her boots back on, "Have you ever been to a movie premier of hers?"

"I wish," Ryan chuckled, "Maybe someday."

"Maybe," Ana nodded, waving goodbye as she headed to her car, Thompson waiting patiently to escort her.


	37. Chapter 37

**So yeah, I've been really shit at updating this story, or any of my stories for that matter. I just wanted to take a moment to say that I'm sorry for the delay as I've been busy with real life. I decided that instead of posting one update, then maybe another a month down the line, I would just complete this story.**

 **So there's a few chapters going up tonight. I've decided to skip a few days on each chapter because it's mostly rehab stuff and it' pretty boring I think but I have tried to keep it simple to follow by posting dates.**

 **Thank you for your patience and thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed. Almost done!**

 **D x**

 **.**

 **Chapter Thirty Seven**

 **.**

 **1st of November,**

 **Sunflower Building,**

 **Seattle Medical Rehabilitation Centre,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington,**

.

Teddy stretched out in his hospital bed as best he could without ripping his stitches. He was more sore today than he'd been previously; his entire body ached externally and internally and the vacant spot which once held his ear had been poked and probed by doctors all morning which had resulted in a major headache. There were talks about Teddy potentially getting a reconstructed ear organised for him, a procedure which required doctors to remove cartilage from his rib cage to be sculpted into a new ear. However, Teddy wasn't really interested; he did not want the surgeons to operate on his tired body again for the sake of vanity. As it stood, he'd rather have no ear than spend any longer in hospital than needed. Besides, symmetry was overrated these days.

Slowly, he tried to sit himself up so that he could better watch the television hanging on a bracket in the top left corner of his room, trying to take the mind off the pain somehow as he waited for the nurse to come and give him his next dosage of pain relief.

' _Grey's Empire is on the brink..._ '

Click.

' _...shares in the company are unstable..._ '

Click.

 _'His influence in the business world is so great that his absence from GEH has cause global financial chaos...'_

Click.

 _'…Mrs Ana Grey's spokesman has insisted that she has nothing to say at the current-'_

Click.

 _'...we hope a speedy recovery to Christian Grey and his family.'_

Teddy clicked his television off and groaned. Of course every channel had something to say about dad. It was ridiculous how influential dad was to the global economy. His period of absence and near death experience would rightfully so caused shareholders and fat cat politicians to panic about their own stability and security.

It seriously fucked Teddy off about how people worried more about dad's fortune and empire than the man himself; surely the priority was his father's life and not the bullshit money he was worth? And who the hell was approaching mom and asking for a statement? What sort of lowlife cretin would harass their family right now? Their lives were plastered over every single news article. Surely it was common sense that no statements would be given at the current moment? What else was there to fucking say?

Feeling his temper rising, Teddy picked up his mobile phone and saw he'd a few text messages from Ryan and Gail and, of course, Mom. None from any of the kids Ted hung around with yet. In fact, no one who Teddy used to party with seemed remotely interested in his life or where he was. Talk about disheartening.

"Turn that frown upside down, Mister," Sophie Taylor suddenly called as she fluttered into Teddy's bedroom like a beautiful summer butterfly. Her strawberry blonde hair was wavy in a messy mid length bob, a quirky floral tea-party dress floating to her knees. Someone needed to tell her that, in Seattle, sandals and summer clothes ran the high risk of jinxing the weather and causing the usual rainstorm to begin, "I brought you some of Gail's chocolate sponge cake."

"Ace," Teddy smirked when he saw Sophie place a tuppaware tub of chocolaty goodness on his bedside unit, finding new motivation to sit up and interact, "The food here is utterly shit. I've been craving Gail's cakes for days. How are you?"

"I'm good, Tedster. Really good, actually," Sophie grinned excitedly, walking straight over to Teddy's left hand side, away from his IV drip. She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers, "Notice anything different?"

Teddy took a moment to study her delicate pale female hands, remembering with a pang of hunger how she'd used them to pleasure him that night he'd lost his virginity to her. As swiftly as that memory overcame him, he recalled with a sudden stabbing sadness how she'd slapped his cheek with that very hand when she'd needed to drive him to the ER after he'd cut himself too deep. When the pain of losing Stephen so tragically had suffocated his young mind.

That particular memory felt like a lifetime ago and looking back Teddy struggled to remember those actions and emotions as his own as though he were a totally different person to the man he was now. This experience with the Esposito family had aged him and shaped him and, if Teddy was being honest, this was the happiest he'd felt in what seemed like forever.

Being with dad and Taylor and Sawyer and Reynolds around a campfire in Canada eating a pair of rabbits Taylor had trapped...it had been so long since he'd been in the company of a group of honest and healthy individuals. Those people had wanted him there and Teddy had allowed himself to drop his walls completely and be exposed to the other men without the constant fear of being judged and ridiculed. It made him realise how much he'd loved hanging out with his father again and Teddy was now honestly kicking himself for not making an effort with his dad as he'd hit his teens. God Teddy loved his dad.

Sophie wriggled her fingers and one sparkled brightly under the light of Teddy's lamp. Instantly, he focused on the beautiful gold banded diamond ring twinkling like a star, a gorgeous piece of equipment for an equally gorgeous woman.

"A ring," Ted said, in shock, "Wow. You're engaged?"

"I am," Sophie replied, the excitement palpable, "Mitt asked me last night. There's a really lengthy process still to go though."

"How?" Teddy asked and then fixed her with the most sincere smile he could muster.

"He's Buddhist," Sophie explained.

"So he's a virgin?" Ted joked.

"No, no, he's... Well, he's not very traditional, hence why he gave me a ring right now. It's his parents who are a lot stricter. They don't know we've been living together all year. They think he's been living with a male flatmate. Because they're from rural Cambodia," Sophie attempted to explain to Teddy, although all the information she was giving him literally was falling on deaf ears.

Teddy was struggling to focus on anything other than the fact that Sophie was taken officially now. He could no longer have her. She'd been picked off the shelf whilst Teddy had been a childish prick and partying away his money without a care about anyone around him.  
But then, why should he have a woman like Soph?

He'd minimal qualifications and his reading abilities were far below average. He hadn't been a nice man and Sophie deserved the best in life and if she felt that that was Mitt then Ted was happy for her, no matter how much his heart broke at the idea.

"Has Taylor spoken to you about it yet?" Ted asked, realising that Taylor's absence since Ted had woken up was most probably because he knew Mitt wanted to propose and he'd given the Cambodian man his blessing to do so.

"He gave Mitt his blessing a few weeks ago," she confirmed, "when we first came here," Sophie added and then smiled, staring at her ring, "Isn't it great, Ted?"

"'Swell, Sophie. I'm happy for you. Both of you," Teddy promised. She looked so happy and her smile was incredibly contagious, "How's Taylor doing?"

"He's a little better. Floored with his medication though. He cant stomach most pain meds."  
"Seems like a pretty shit quality for a marine," Teddy quipped, angry at Jason's cowardice. He should have spoken to Teddy about the proposed engagement but instead he'd hid.  
"It was different times when he enlisted," Sophie shrugged, "Besides...dad always says that Morphine is for people who get shot and when he was in the Corps he'd no intention of being shot," she chuckled, "How's your family doing?"  
"Fucked if I knew," Ted laughed, "Dad's recovering, mom is running the shots and Phoebe's Phoebe. Nothing new to report in that front. At least as far as I know. I don't get a lot of visitors between physio and resting; I'm surprised I'm even awake right now actually. You must be worth the energy, huh? "

"No I'm not. You need to rest," Sophie insisted before pulling a hand held games console from her handbag, "I came to tell you about the engagement first…but I also brought you this. I know the television is pretty grim right now. One channel was talking about a global financial depression because your dad nearly died."

"That sort of talk goes straight to Dad's ego," Teddy said light heartedly.

Sophie laughed and nodded because she knew as well as anyone else just how much Dad loved his own importance. One reporter had once referred to him as the Messiah of the Economic Market and Ted remembered how he'd lorded it around the Mansion so much that even mom was joining in with the security team and pretending to shoot him behind his back.

It made Teddy smile and then laugh but laughing hurt his stitches so he quickly stopped and yawned, "You're right. Thank you for this," he nodded towards the games console on the bedside cabinet, "It'll give me something to do between naps."

"Perfect," Sophie smiled, pulling his blanket over him a little. With the hand which now supported an impressive engagement ring, she caressed his cheek and bid him good night even though it was barely past noon.

.

 **.**

 **6th of November,**

 **Grey Mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington**

.

"Ana," Danni called just as Ana walked into the house from visiting Christian and Teddy. The mansion was starting to feel like a refugee centre. Luke, Danni and the Sawyer girls had moved in to keep them safe whilst Welch ran the investigation with the police. Reynolds family were here too, although he was organising flights for Craig and Mei to get away from the USA for a bit now that he was feeling less fragile. Gail was recovering from her own operation now that Jason was safe, and she had Sophie and Mitt living in her cottage. The Taylor's goddamn bulldog was also back and trotting around the house like a Lord. And of course there was the army of security outside their property making the mansion impenetrable.

It was crowded and noisy…but oddly enough Ana was enjoying the buzz. Under other circumstances it would have been relatively pleasant to hear the house so lively. Phoebe was playing with the Sawyer girls and coaxing them to be youngsters once more after the hell they and their mother had endured. It reminded Ana just how wonderful her youngest child was; that despite Teddy's ability to make himself centre of attention, even as a youngster, Phoebe had never gone off the rails and had been a consistent support to Ana when her mental health nosedived after Stephen's death.

"Are you okay, Danni?" Ana smiled as she placed her handbag down on the kitchen counter and fixed the feisty Mrs Sawyer with a welcoming smile.

"I'm fine but I need to go to work," Danni explained and shook her head, "I don't want to but I'm supposed to be doing the hair of my friend Cara. She's getting married later tonight and I just can't not do it."

Ana nodded and smiled, "That's fine though; just make sure you take one of the security team with you."

"Would you be okay just keeping an eye on the girls and Luke?" Danni asked, and Ana could see how conflicted she was to be leaving her family for even just a few hours, "The girls are with Phoebe in the games room and Luke's lazing around in the living room."

"It's fine," Ana smiled, "I'll leave the girls to play and then I'll have Stonehouse get everyone pizza for dinner."

"Thank you," Danni nodded and sighed, "I'll have my phone on me at all times and I can come back here if there's any issues whatsoever."

"There wont be any issues, honestly," Ana reassured her, walking over to grab a cup of tea and a biscuits. She was tired, today's visit with Christian had been incredibly difficult as it was the start of his physiotherapy. He'd been angry, sore, frustrated and Ana knew that he felt cornered and patronised. At one point he'd told everyone, including Ana, to fuck off.

However, Ana knew it would get easier. Every website and forum she'd researched Christian's injuries and physiotherapy plans had said that the road was long and would be agonising but, eventually, it would become easier and more durable.

She checked on everyone before sitting down in the living room to have her cup of tea, Luke laying down on the chaise longue quietly.

"Hey, Sawyer," she called and he looked over and gave her a nod, not saying a word, "Blink once if you're okay."

Luke blinked, and then closed his eyes and went back to dozing. Ana sighed and relaxed back against the plush pillows of her sofa. It was nice to get a little peace and quiet, the door to the living room closed to keep out the bustle of the busy house.

She must have also fallen asleep because when she woke, her stomach gave an almighty growl to remind her to get that pizza ordered. Stretching, she looked over and saw Luke sitting up and staring directly at her, white as snow.

"Are you okay, Luke?" Ana asked, frowning.

"I feel shick," Luke muttered, looking unnerved before Ana for the first time in their working partnership. He was sat on the edge of the chaise longue, one hand on his stomach and the other hovering around his wired shut jaw.

Shit, Ana thought, was he going to choke in his own vomit?!

Maybe he just felt sick?

"Luke, are you going to actually be sick?" Ana asked, walking over to him and sitting beside him. At first, he shook his head slowly but then nodded and covered his mouth with his hand as he stood.

"My jaw," he panicked then began heaving.

"Okay, don't panic sweetie," Ana said instantly, taking his elbow and pulling him to the centre of the room away from Christian's favourite shag rug to where the floor was stone since there didn't seem to be enough time to head to a toilet.

"Phoebe?" Ana shouted through to her daughter, stroking Luke's back as he kept heaving. Her daughter came shortly after being called, thankfully, like her father and consistently level headed when it was required.

"Yes mom?" Phoebe smiled, then winced when she saw Luke gagging, "Is he okay?"

"He's going to be sick. Can you help me?" Ana asked. Gail was a vomit sympathiser who was having a tough time dealing with her husband's nausea symptoms so Phoebe was the best person for the job; she was medically trained and carried her First Aider's qualifications proudly.

"You need to stretch out his cheeks," Phoebe said quickly, demonstrating with her own and coming over to help keep Sawyer in a position where his face was completely down staring at the ground.

Ana did just as she was asked, putting her fingers in to Sawyers mouth and pulling his cheeks out just as he began to be sick.

"Keep him forward," Phoebe instructed, leaning Sawyer a little more forward when he shifted the position Phoebe originally placed him in.

The force of the vomit trickled through the gaps in his teeth and Ana felt it on her fingers too. Thank God Christen wasn't home to see this; his beloved stone flooring becoming coated in Sawyer's stomach content.

"That's it, Luke. You're alright," Phoebe assured, rubbing his back to try and keep him calm.

Ana noticed that he was crying and her heart broke for him. He eventually stopped physically being sick but the residue that couldn't escape his wired jaw was making him gag; it couldn't have tasted nice.

"Mom, you go help clean him up. I'll get the mop out," Phoebe said instantly, actually volunteering to clean up the sick herself.

Thank God for her selfless daughter.

"Okay, come on, let's go rinse your mouth, Luke," Ana soothed, pulling her bodyguard back through to the kitchen where Gail was cleaning the hob, "Gail can I get Teddy's Gatorade bottle filled with water please? Maybe stay out of the good living room too. Luke's been a bit unwell."

Gail paled but handed Ana the water bottle as well as a basin so Luke could sit at the table and rinse out his mouth.

He used the bottle top to aim for a gap in his teeth, squeezing the bottle and spraying water into his mouth like a jet. He did his best to rinse but the taste was making him gag again which was made worse when he just swallowed instead of spitting.

Luke was crying again, covering his eyes with his hands.

"I hate 'is," he tried to say, crying hard as he just had a complete and utter breakdown in the kitchen.

Ana grabbed him on instinct and brought him to his feet. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him bend down against her shoulder, crying against her, "You're doing so well. It's okay, Luke."

"I can't talk. I can't shing. I hurt. I hate this." Luke croaked, "Eveyone'sh joking about it. It'sh sho hard."

"Oh Luke," Ana soothed, "You're okay. You're alright. It's only another few weeks. You'll be okay."

Luke nodded and pulled back, wiping his blue-green eyes. He was an exceptionally handsome man but to Ana he was probably her best friend. Like a little brother almost.

"Come on. You've got sick on your clothes. I'll run you a bath and you can relax."

"I shouldn't," Luke started but Ana shut him up.

"Danni asked me to keep an eye on you. You're having a bath and then you can take a nap and then when you're awake, we'll all have dinner and watch a movie together. No one talks during movies."

Luke nodded, his eyes welling up again. Ana took his hand and led him up the grand staircase to her and Christian's en suite. The bathtub in there was, really, the size of a hot tub. When the kids had been younger, Ana remembered all four of them sitting in their swimming costumes to wash up after a messy day painting. It had been so much fun, one of these little family moments which a mother cherished the memory of until her deathbed. Ana remembered Phoebe squealing in hilarity as Ted gave Christian a bubbly beard, her little boy wearing his goggles just because.

She began pouring the bath and left Luke to it, checking in on Eden and Isla Sawyer who were playing with a styling head. Phoebe was just finishing cleaning up the living room and Gail, bless, was trying to act like the knowledge of vomit in the living room wasn't bothering her.

Ana was about to go and help Phoebe when she received a phone call from Christian's Therapist, Flynn.

"Hello, Mrs Grey speaking," she answered, going into the conservatory to take the call in privacy. Flynn had become an active part in Christian's therapy sessions because, apparently, learning to use his arm again was as much a mental battle as it would be a physical one.

"Hello, Mrs Grey. It's John. I just wanted to give you an update on Christian's progress and behaviour today. I know you expressed concerns to the nursing team about his frustrations with the therapy program."

"He was incredibly short with everyone this morning," Ana agreed, having never been spoken to so rudely by Christian.

"I know, Ana," John agreed, "He's asked me to speak to you today regarding an incident which occurred."

Ana felt her stomach turn, "Has something happened?"

"Mr Grey has asked me to inform you that he has pushed one of the faculty members. The situation isn't serious, the nurse in question isn't wanting to make an issue of the situation but Christian's been given a yellow card for the incident; the hospital do not take that sort of thing lightly," John sighed, and Ana could imagine the man squeezing the bridge of his nose, "He felt it would be better if you heard it from me. He's told everyone to fuck off and he's demanding to be left alone but…yeah, I thought I'd do what he asked and give you a forewarning before you visit tomorrow."

Oh fifty…


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter Thirty Eight**

 **.**

 **6th of November,**

 **Oak-leaf Building,**

 **Seattle Medical Rehabilitation Centre,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington,**

.

Christian laid in bed and studied his burnt arm, doing the little exercises which the doctors had had him do the minute he was admitted into the Canadian hospital before being transferred to this Seattle Rehab institute. He could barely remember trying to touch his thumb with each finger tips because he'd been in a state of pain and drug induced delirium it felt. There wasn't an exact moment where he felt himself become aware of his reality. There was just a series of moments which felt too real to be dreams.

Now, weeks after the initial injury, Christian could only just touch his forefinger to his thumb and it was excruciatingly difficult to do. His pinkie could twitch and so could his thumb but a serious amount of effort went into making these simple and pathetic movements. It was infuriating, particularly when Ana was there to watch him fail.

"Fucking hell," he groaned and relaxed his muscles, looking at the mangled skin on his forearm. The skin graph had taken well but it was disgusting and unsightly. Just like his face.

When he'd first gotten the opportunity to study his face for himself, with a clear non sedated mind, he'd cried. The entire side of his cheek running down to his neck was red and scarred. The pain was gone, but the aggressive colouring had remained and the charred scar tissue had interfered with his facial hair follicles. It was all a fucking mess.

"Mr Grey."

Christian looked up and tried not to narrow his eyes. It wasn't Taylor's fault that his arm was fucked. It wasn't Ana's. It wasn't Teddy's. It wasn't the nurses or the doctors who'd been looking after him. It was the fault of a twisted brat who'd committed a murder which Ted had witnessed. However, all the pain and frustration and humiliation Christian was experiencing was making him lash out at the wrong people.

"Taylor."

He stopped his pathetic attempts of self-lead physiotherapy and looked towards the large bear like man stood under the door threshold, "I heard you told Nurse Kathy to 'Fuck off' today. And pushed her over."

Christian grumbled and nodded once, "She was patronising me."

Taylor rose an eyebrow and said nothing more, allowing himself into Christian's room and plopping his ass on the seat Ana usually took beside him. He was careful with his own arm which annoyed Christian; his fingers could twitch without any issues whatsoever and it was so unfair.

"How's therapy going?" Jason asked once he was settled.

"Have you been sent to speak to me?" Christian frowned, cutting to the chase, "Ana's spoken to you, hasn't she?"

"She's worried you're shutting yourself off; yes," Jason nodded, "But I'm asking to be polite."

"I'm not shutting off; everyone's crowding me. I'll get better in my own time. I just need…I just need a youtube video on how to do it. I don't need some ditzy nurse with tuna breath to act like my best friend and touch me," Christian growled, "She touched my chest, Taylor. To get me to walk a little straighter."

Jason nodded but said nothing, watching Christian curiously.

"And then when I told her to back off and no touch me she said I was being silly and laid her hand on my back as well as my chest," Christian continued to rambled, "It hurt. I don't think she realised it hurt more than my arm. And pushing her was the only way to get her away."

Jason nodded once more, running his hand through his orangey blonde hair before resting it on Christian's kneecap.

"If Physiotherapy means being touched then I'm not going through with it. I'll not manage," Christian sighed, slumping back against his pillows, "It's too fucking much. I feel-"

"Emasculated?" Jason interrupted Christian knowingly, fixing him with a look which was relatively reassuring, "I know how it feels. You're not the only person being patronised here and you don't see me pushing nurses."

"You've not seen the shit I have," Christian snapped, "When she touched me-"

"And you've not seen the shit I have," Jason interrupted and argued back, "You need to grow a pair right now or you wont get any better. And that's not fair to Ana."

Christian huffed and growled but knew Jason was right; which pissed him off all the more.

"You're not being emasculated. As much as it feels like you are. You're still the top dog, the alpha male," Jason pointed out, "You could cripple this entire institute financially and have every member of staff out on their asses. Just because you need the medical treatment now, doesn't mean you're less of a man. Far from it; you're more than a man. Burns are hell."

"You know about burns?" Christian spat.

"No; but I was in Desert Storm," Jason reminded Christian, "I've seen some pretty horrific injuries from my men as well as the enemies. You're doing well to keep moving your fingers. I can't imagine how fucking painful it must be."

"It doesn't hurt," Christian admitted, "The nerve endings are pretty much all gone. But it still…it still is painful, if that makes sense? And the muscles are still there. Some of them. But the effort to use them is excruciating. I don't think I'll ever have my arm function like this again and that's a difficult thought."

"Adapt, Improvise, Overcome," Jason said confidently, "That's the Marine Corps way."

"I don't think I can," Christian groaned, "I'm weak."

"You can't be weak. You're needed, by your family, by the entire country, to be strong and powerful," Jason reminded him, "And that's before we seek an audience with the Esposito family."

Christian's hackles raised at the mere mention of the Esposito name but he knew that Jason was right. For his family's safety, Christian needed to meet the Esposito family. He needed to speak to Slick's father, the man who was going on public television denouncing his son and to publically send his apologies to the Greys. Christian knew he needed to face this man and put an end to this whole clusterfuck of a nightmare.

"How's Gail?" he asked, wanting to change the flow of the conversation, his temper and frustrations ever so slightly subdued with the knowledge that he needed to be stronger.

"Exhausted," Jason shrugged, "We're speaking on the phone everyday but she's obviously just had surgery herself. We've decided that we'll support each other when need be but until then we're going to try and heal individually. I can't ask her to be here every day because that's selfish of me. Sophie comes a lot though. Mitt too."

"I'm glad Gail's tumour wasn't cancerous," Christian said, laying his good hand on the one Jason still hand on his knee.

"Not as glad as I am," Jason joked, smiling slightly, "We've got to get ourselves better so we can deal with this mess properly, right?"

"Right," Christian agreed, "Adapt, improvise, overcome. And no more pushing the nurses."

.

 **The following morning…**

 **7th of November,**

 **Oak-leaf Building,**

 **Seattle Medical Rehabilitation Centre,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington,**

 **.**

"Hey, Handsome," Ana smiled as she walked into Christian's room and found him sitting up and trying to use his bad arm to grasp the straw of his cola. He looked less agitated than he'd been yesterday, smiling softly up towards her, "How are you?"

"Better," he admitted, forgetting the straw and studying her, "You look lovely."

"I had an early night. I feel fighting fit today," she smiled, coming towards him and taking her seat by his bedside, "Teddy says 'Hi'. He's asking for you," she told him. Teddy couldn't walk long distances at all and he certainly couldn't make it to his father and Jason's building. Christian could and he'd seen Teddy a couple of times but not since Ted's medication was reduced and he'd become a lot more alert.

"Tomorrow I've a rest day from physio so I'm going to go have dinner with Ted," Christian promised, smiling at Ana once more. His attitude was a damn sight better than it had been the last few days. He seemed more himself which was great, "How have you been, Mrs Grey?"

"I've been great. The house is busy but Reynolds has just shipped off Craig and Mei to Paris," Ana chuckled, "So that's two less bodies. Phoebe's been great with helping the Sawyer girls…honestly, Christian. Our daughter is just the most caring person. Sawyer took ill through the night and she was the first to volunteer to clean up his mess, and she helped Danni with his sheets and pyjamas. He's okay but the doctor thinks he's picked up a tummy bug."

"Shit, and his jaw's wired," Christian grimaced.

"Being sick isn't pleasant at the best of times. At least he's only ingesting liquids so that's all he's bringing up," Ana chuckled, "Other than that, everyone's recovering on Camp Grey; the USA's strongest military base," she added with a grumble, "I can't help but think the German Shepherd dogs are overkill."

"It's just precautionary until we deal with this mess," Christian reminded Ana, and then he smiled again, "I love you. I'm sorry I've not been myself lately."

"It's fine, Christian," Ana assured him, "I've been worried, especially when Flynn called to say you'd pushed that nurse last night, but I'm glad to see you're feeling more yourself today."

"I spoke to Jason and we watched sport," Christian explained, "I think everything just got to me. I've apologised hundreds of times to that nurse and she's okay with it, apparently, but I'm not. I can't believe I lost it like that. I just…panicked. Everything was getting tight and I needed space but," he shook his head, "There's no excuse. I told Flynn that and Jason had words with me about my attitude that's set me on the right path so, you know, thank you for calling him last night."

"You're more than welcome, Christian," Ana assured, having known that when Christian was in such a hostile mood, Jason was usually the best man to defuse the situation. Ana could have tried but if Christian was angry and feeling weak and pathetic, having Ana there to witness it would only upset him more. He needed to sulk before he spoke to Ana rationally; that's how he'd always been.

"I know how hard it is to be unable to do the things you loved," Ana added, smiling at her husband, "But you're an amazing man, Christian. You're a survivor and I know you'll find a way to better your situation. Until then…"

Ana turned and walked back to the door, poking her head out where Phoebe was hiding in the corridor clutching a gift to her healing father.

"Come in, Sweetie," she cooed and Phoebe nodded, entering Christian's room with her present; a large box which was wrapped in beautiful bright stripy wrapping paper. Christian's eyes lit up with excitement and he sat up straighter.

"Phoebe…what is this?" he asked with a pleasant laugh, smiling widely.

"We know it's hard being here and we know you how much you love music when you're feeling stressed," Phoebe said, lifting the massive box up with Ana's help and laying it across Christian's lap, "It was my idea," she explained, "Mom and I went and bought it this morning before we came here."

Christian frowned and looked at Ana for permission to open his gift. She nodded, standing behind Phoebe and laying her arms around her daughter's neck loosely, "Go ahead, baby."

Slowly, trying to use his bad arm as well as his good arm, Christian began to tear through the paper.

"What on earth…" he frowned, reading the brand name, Yamaha, on the box. With more excitement and confusion he continued to open the parcel before he began laughing, "You guys bought me a keyboard?"

"There's no piano here," Ana explained, "And you're in a hospital so we thought you'd be able to put your headphones into this and play in silence during the night."

"…girls," Christian laughed, "Thank you so much. I love it."

"You're more than welcome," Ana nodded.

"We love you dad, and we're so proud of your recovery," Phoebe added, leaning over and kissing her dad on the forehead.

"It'll be a better form of physio for you too, I think," Ana explained, "You've always loved playing the piano. Maybe this will be a lot more motivating for you."

"Phoebe, Ana," Christian said again, utterly flabbergasted, "Thank you. God, you girls will make me cry," he joked, pulling Phoebe in for a hug before fixing Ana with two watery grey eyes, "I love you both so so much. Thank you."

.

 **8th of November,**

 **Sunflower Building,**

 **Seattle Medical Rehabilitation Centre,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington,**

.

Teddy was exhausted but he felt someone's presence in his room. Slowly and with effort, he opened his eyes and studied his alarm clock. It was barely two in the afternoon but Teddy was utterly spent. There was not much he could do but be bedridden and sleep off his injury. It felt like decades ago since he was shot in the gut and time didn't seem to be passing him any quicker.

He shifted and tried to focus his sleepy eyes to the large male-shape blob stood on the sofa by Ted's television, tinkering with it. At first, he thought it was Jason and found himself becoming incredibly excited; his friend had returned to him. Because Taylor was a friend now, right? He and Ted were friends, they'd survived something terrible and now they were friends. Surely they were?

But to Teddy's shock, it wasn't Taylor sat before him. As his eyes got with the picture, Ted realised that his visitor was his former CPO, his former 'best friend'; Jonathan Ryans.

"Ryan?" Teddy coughed, his chest a little congested with mucus because he wasn't breathing as well because of the bruising and pain he was still fucking experiencing across his abdomen.

"Hey, Tedmeister," Ryan called, giving Teddy that familiar and adorable Boy Scout smile, "Sorry I didn't come sooner; I've only just started feeling up to moving around myself," he said, pointing to a neat scar on his throat, "I've been through the wars too."

"Ryan," Teddy choked then started to cry because….fuck.

The last thing he'd said to this man in person was 'You autistic retard, fuck off' and the man had been nothing but loyal and supportive of Teddy since he'd been in diapers. He was like a big brother to him, mom having preferred Teddy to have that sort of relationship with the security than what she and dad had with Jason and Sawyer; it felt 'more natural' to mom.

"I can't believe you came to see me," Teddy cried, wiping his eyes, "I can't believe it."

"Well I got your letter so I reckoned we were alright," Ryan shrugged, studying Teddy closely. He knew that Ryan often struggled to read social situations, as part of his autism. His memory and recall were perfect, he was single minded and determined, but picking the difference between sad and happy was often a challenge, "Your mom spoke to me about playing some games with you if you're feeling up to it?"

"Yes," Teddy gulped and tried to pull himself up a bit more, "What sort of games?"

"Well I brought my Playstation and just hooked it up while you were sleeping," Ryan explained, "I thought, that way, you could use a Bluetooth controller from your bed. I've brought a dongle too so we could go online as long as the nurses don't notice," he said, pointing to his rucksack, "I brought Call of Duty, MBL, GTA 5, Mountain Dew and M&M's. That sound okay with you?"

"Anyone of those is perfect," Teddy smiled, laughing softly, "Thanks, man."

"No worries, Tedmeister." Ryan smiled, handing him his remote before going to set up the game.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter Thirty Nine**

 **.**

 **29th of November**

 **Sunflower Building,**

 **Seattle Medical Rehabilitation Centre,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington,**

.

Teddy hated this whole rehab shit. It was boring and exhausting at the same time. He had a good flow of visitors to help pass the time between naps and food. Dad was a regular whenever his physio schedule allowed it, Mom came daily if she could, Phoebe just as often. Gail snuck him in cakes and chocolates whenever she came and once she'd worked with Sophie to sneak their bulldog, Lesley in, which had been good fun. Sophie saw more of her father but always made time to text or call Ted daily which was just as good. Ryan practically lived here now that his playstation was in Teddy's room on loan which worked well for Ted.

Overall, everyone had come to visit him…except Taylor.

He'd seen nothing of the man he'd taken the gut shot for which hurt Teddy; he wasn't looking for praise for saving Taylor's life but he'd have loved to have at least once conversation with the man to explain that he was sorry for getting him messed up in the Esposito hurricane of chaos. Everyone else had come at least once to see Teddy in the last few weeks except Taylor.

With Christmas nearing gradually, Teddy wondered how long he'd be kept in here. He was pretty much bedridden still and what attempts he'd made to walk around his room had had the nurses furious with him. There were talks of him being moved to the Oak-Leaf building to start a proper focus on physiotherapy now that the experts were confident that Teddy was out of the woods infection wise, something which Teddy knew he was lucky to have escaped.

"How are you feeling, Mr Grey?" Nurse Gertrud asked, coming to update Teddy's chart.

"Tired but good," Teddy smiled, trying to be welcoming and friendly. He let out a yawn as the nurse began the usual checks before asking if he needed anything brought to him. When he told her he was fine, she left and Teddy was alone once more with the Playstation and radio.

Sophie would be staying until Christmas, Teddy was certain, but she'd said she would be back in Cambodia with Mitt for New Years, which was seriously bumming Teddy out. It was still hard to believe she was to be married, that she would soon start a family with this man who lived fucking miles away. He'd always imagined that one day, she'd come home to him, bored of Cambodia. And when she did, Ted would ask her out. After all, they were best friends, they'd slept together too; she'd been Teddy's first time.

Maybe if Ted had been less interested in partying and more interested in making himself a better person when he was younger, Sophie would have actually considered him as a potential boyfriend rather than Mitt. Sure there was a sizable age difference but that only seemed weird because Teddy was eighteen going on nineteen. If he were twenty seven, say, the age gap wouldn't have been weird. Not that the age gap bothered him whatsoever. Mom was a lot younger than dad and no one cared. Jason and Gail nearly had a decade between them and that didn't stop them either. What difference did a few years hold?

Ted sighed and leant over for his reading book. He assumed that Jason had mentioned to Gail that he'd trouble reading because one day she'd appeared with books and a small coloured overlay which she, apparently, used to help her with her dyslexia. Ted was shocked to find that the subtle blue tint had actually helped stop the letters on the page in front of him from dancing around like drunken partiers. He still struggled to read but he'd been managing to read a few pages here and there between naps and that gave him a confidence boost for sure.

He was sounding out some of the harder words in one of his mother's romance novels when Jason cleared his throat.

"What's the word?"

Teddy jumped and looked back towards the stranger watching him. He'd forgotten how big Taylor was, blocking the doorway with his impressive frame. His arm was in a sling but otherwise he looked well. In fact, he looked about five years younger with his golden orangey hair shaggy and covering his wrinkled forehead.

"Eh, it's," Teddy looked back at the blue tinted paper, "Fuh-fuhella. Fella," he sounded out, feeling a little on the spot now he'd an audience, "Fella-tee-i-o."

Jason coughed and made a face, "What's the context?"

"I think Alexander's got the horn," Teddy explained, nodding at his mother's second published book, "He's speaking to a stripper."

"Fellatio," Jason laughed, "'t-i-o' can make a 'shhhh' noise. Like 'Nation' or 'Solution'. The Stripper's offering to suck him off."

"Well I'm glad I never asked the nurse what that word said," Ted joked, blushing as he placed the book and the blue overlay down, "Do you read mom's books?"

"Of course," Jason nodded, "Gail, Roz, Kate and Mia all tend to get to read the first copies and offer input. What women want, sort of scenario. I read over Gail's shoulder. Your mom's a talented woman, Ted. That's actually a really good book."

"I've almost done the first chapter," Teddy admitted, "Gail said this is the second book?"

"Yeah, your mom seems to write a universe of characters who all interact. The first book was about a business man and an art student. That one's about the FBI agent who saved their lives in the first one. Reynolds actually helped her with terminology," Jason explained.

"No kidding," Ted whistled, shaking his head as he looked at his mom's hard efforts. She'd left the publishing malarkey to be with her family but boredom had set in and she'd taken to writing. Ted knew she was popular and had a good following, publishing under the simple name _A.R.S_.

"How are you getting on anyway? You look pretty good," Teddy complimented, watching as Jason hovered by the sofa before taking a seat.

"I'm going home today," Jason explained, "I'm being discharged a few days ahead of your dad."

"I heard that dad would get home for Christmas; I never realised everyone was that ahead of me," Teddy joked, trying to mask his disappointment about being alone in this institution over the festive period.

"Well your dad's coming on leaps and bounds, and that damn keyboard of his has done wonders for his mood," Jason commented, "He's got four weekly physio sessions so he's not really being discharged, they just want to give him a bit more independence. So you'll not be alone."

"And what about you?" Ted asked, "How are you healing up?"

"As long as I do my exercises I should be absolutely fine," Jason nodded, "Which is great because I'm desperate to get home to my own bed; this ones here are too short for men my stature."

"Liar," Teddy teased, "You just want home to Gail."

"…she's got a nurse's outfit already for me, so yeah that's an added bonus of being released," Jason smirked, looking at his slippers, "I'm sorry I never came to see you earlier. I just…I didn't know how to handle this at all. I mean, you took a bullet for me, Ted. I can't get my head around that. It's supposed to be me who takes the bullet for you."

"It's fine," Teddy promised, "You'd taken enough of a beating for me."

"It's not fine Ted," Jason admitted, still not looking up from his slippers whatsoever, "I have nightmares about it. In fact, I'm having to speak to Flynn daily and he's given me medication to help me."

"What, you mean like crazy pills?" Ted said, then winced at his choice of words. He was still learning how to be more sensitive and for the most part he felt he had done well not to be a dick so slipping up now was irritating, "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"No, you're fine," Jason shrugged, "And yeah, crazy pills. I've been given something called Citalopram to help with my mood and the panic attacks. My arm's recovering well but my head's a mess."

Shit.

Teddy felt his stomach churn as he watched his father's bodyguard, the man who'd been dragged into this whole mess, open up about his poor mental health, the result of Teddy's childishness.

"I'm so sorry," Teddy pressed, "I'm so sorry you got sucked into this mess, Taylor. I'm not that person anymore though. I promise, I'm trying to be better. I want to be better."

"Hey, calm down," Jason scoffed, "I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm just explaining why I've not come to see you sooner. It's just been too hard for me; between Gail's operation and you taking a bullet for me…I've had a lot of mental mountains to climb. I'll get over it with therapy I'm sure and I'll be back to bullying the staff at GEH but, well, it'll be tough."

"I thought you were avoiding me because you hated me," Ted admitted, "That and I thought maybe it was because of Sophie and Mitt."

"That's been part of the pressure too," Jason said softly, "Look, Ted, I know you like Sophie. I know he likes you. But Mitt asked me for my blessing and I had to give it to him; he makes her happy, he's got a job, they live together. I couldn't say 'no' because of you. It's not fair."

"I know," Teddy sighed, "and it's okay. Sophie deserves a man and I've got a long way to go, a lot of people to prove wrong. I am trying, I promise, to be better."

Jason nodded and finally looked up at Ted, "Thank you for saving my life."

"Thank you for saving mine," Teddy nodded and sat up with difficulty, swinging his stiff legs over the side of his bed so that he was facing Jason completely, "In more ways than one, this experience has saved my life. I see now what's important. Stephen-" he felt his voice wobble and was certain Jason's dark blue eyes grew wet, "Stephen's death shouldn't have been my undoing. I should have let you all in sooner. But I didn't and I was a nightmare. I abuse mom and dad, I abused you and Gail, my sister, the staff…I went to every therapist under the sun and took the absolute piss when I really should have taken those sessions seriously. I see my mistakes, I see the bridges my behaviour's burnt, and I'm trying. I don't expect anyone to forgive me but I want to try."

Jason nodded and held Ted's gaze for a few moments before speaking, "I believe you. And I think you'll manage."

"Thanks," Teddy replied, looking over at the door when Gail appeared with a basket of goodies for Ted, "Hey, Gail."

"Hey Ted," Gail called, then looked at her husband.

Her hair was staring to grow back out, though it was miles neater than Jason's. She kept it brushed and styled, occasionally she wore a head band so she looked 'less like a boiled egg', though Teddy assured her she looked beautiful with or without her long hair. Today she was dressed warm in a long parka, jeans and boots. It was weird how much Ted missed seeing actual clothes, so used to white uniforms and scrubs. No denim for miles, it felt.

"Are you ready to go, Mr Taylor?" Gail asked.

"You bet, ma'am," Jason smiled, standing up.

"Good. We need to pick up your prescriptions and then we're all set," Gail told him before turning back to Ted, "I brought you some flapjacks and Mountain Dew. Don't tell the nurses," she winked.

"Thanks, Gail," Teddy laughed, turning to watch as Jason struggled to pull on his own coat, draping it over his broken arm, "I'll see you both soon, yeah?"

"Absolutely," Gail assured him, "How are you liking that book?" she asked, pointing at the novel.

"It's good so far," Teddy promised, "I've been getting stuck on a few words here and there but it's been pretty fun so far."

"He's at the scene were Alexander gets deep-throated round the back of the stripclub," Jason interjected, Gail hitting his good arm.

"Hey! Nicer language please, Mister. We've got a house full of ladies back home. You can't say stuff like that," Gail scoffed.

"Sorry, Dear. You'll need to tell me off later," Jason challenged and Teddy felt like an awkward third wheel instantly.

"Don't start or I'll break your other arm," Gail threatened, the pair exchanging a look that Teddy had seen his parents give each other nearly every day of his life, "Are you ready to go? I've got Mac'n'Cheese waiting for you with a new bottle of ketchup, Heartbreak Ridge in the DVD player, ready to go and your pyjamas on the radiator."

"God I love you. I'm going to nip to the bathroom first," Jason nodded, "Do you mind going to the pharmacist and I'll meet you there?"

"Since it's you," Gail sighed playfully and then looked back at Ted, "We'll see you soon, Ted."

"Bye, Gail," Teddy called, watching her go and smiling softly, "You're a lucky guy, Jason."

"That I am. Which is why you can have these," Jason declared, pulling a rolled up magazine from the depths of his own heavy parka, "The blonde on page seven; gorgeous."

Teddy couldn't help it; he burst out laughing as he took the porn magazine from Jason's hand, "Thanks."

"Just in case you wanted to jack it to your mom's romance novel. I'm not sure about you but that's kinda weird, don't you think?" Jason pointed out, making Teddy laugh all the more, "Take care of yourself kid. I'll get back up when I can; but I wont be driving any time soon."

"Thanks Jason, for saving my life."

"No, Teddy. Thank you for saving my life."


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter Forty**

 **.**

 **Weeks later...**

 **15th of January**

 **Stefano Esposito Senior's Residential address,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington,**

.

Jason wasn't ready for this sort of shit but Christian needed him. Side by side, the unlikely partnership, they walked straight into the mansion of Stefano Esposito senior, the grieving father of Slick. Christian stuck close to his usual bodyguard and said very little as they were both led forwards across a beautiful marble floor. Sawyer was trailing behind them both, the only form of security that they'd brought with them. Ideally, Christian wanted to bring an army of SEALs, Marines, Rangers... But at this point in his journey with the Esposito clan, Christian was mentally exhausted and knew the end was in sight. Ana knew where he was and so did Welch. If this was to be his end, the right people would know and be informed and the Esposito clan would be condemned.

Plus, Christian had been publically invited to do business with Stefano Senior, and Christian wasn't prepared to make another enemy with this family by coming completely manned with every single member of the security team. He wanted to leave this nightmare behind him. Slick was dead, Teddy and Jason had only witnessed his crimes and no one else's. There was no issue with the rest of the Esposito family and the Greys. Christian only hoped Senior would see it that way too and their families could begin the long and painful process of rebuilding their lives together.

"How's the arm?" Sawyer asked, breaking the silence, and both Christian and Jason turned to face him, each of them still tenderly wearing slings despite their sharp suits.

Jason was cradling his like a new born baby. Because of the nausea he suffered when he took pain medication, he'd stopped taking them twenty four hours ago specifically for this meeting today. Of all the times to suddenly be hit with the queasies, in the home of a criminal overlord was perhaps not the best moment. It was bandaged and held in a thick sling to protect it but Jason had wrapped his good arm around it to be sure it wasn't jarred as they walked. Despite his injury, however, the marine stood tall and proud, cutting a fearsome figure in his black tailored suit. Especially now that his hair was cut back in his usual preferred jarhead style.

Christian was envious of his bodyguard's injury; he'd end up having full function return with the help of physiotherapy to encourage the damaged muscles to work once more. Christian didn't think his own prognosis looked as promising despite his hard work to even just get his fingers wiggling. Like Taylor, Christian's arm was in a sling to support it but he wasn't letting himself appear weak and defeatist. He was walking tall with his chest puffed out and his head held high. He wasn't about to be bullied by these thugs. He was here for Teddy, for Ana and for Phoebe. He needed this nightmare to be over and he intended to end it now for his family; they'd all been through too fucking much these last months.

"Our arms are fine," Jason answered for them both, puffed up just like Christian. He, too, wasn't prepared to be intimidated which was helping Christian to calm his own nerves.

"Good," Sawyer responded, his jaw free of the wiring which had once held it shut. Christian had never seen a man so happy to eat a burger than he did the day Luke came back from the doctors with his mouth movable once more. It was getting it to close which was the problem now; no one had missed Sawyer's smart mouth.

They were being escorted through an impressive home, far more grad than Christian's own mansion. This place was show room condition, unlived in almost. Everything was sleek and modern but it all felt cold to Christian. The garden had been incredibly grand and Christian had admired the beautiful water fountains and hedgerows as Sawyer drove them up the cobbled driveway in the Q7. The house itself was set in the heart of the countryside, away from everyone, upon a large hill which made the place feel like a fortress. It was similar to the Greys but lacked a homeliness which Ana had instilled the moment the kids came along. There were no kids toys littered around, there were few photos of family members, no cushions or throws, nothing which made Christian feel at home.

Out front they'd been greeted by four men in suits and shades, two of which asked to check Christian, Luke and Jason for weapons. Upon losing their guns and also their mobile phones, Luke and Jason had become tense, no doubt because they felt overwhelmingly vulnerable and naked as they walked closer and closer into the lion's den. They were led into the house by the other two of the Esposito's goons who said nothing to them whatsoever which was fine by Christian; it meant that they didn't have to attempt any sort of mother fucking small talk with the bastards who'd tried and failed to murder his son.

Luke growled suddenly as they took a left along another grand hallway and Christian turned to look at the Navy SEAL, following his train of sight and spying a large portrait of Stefano Esposito Junior; Slick. There were flowers and candles on the tiled floor before it, letters from loved ones and deepest sympathy cards too apparently. It made Christian's blood boil and his skin prickle. Sawyer looked at it just as furiously. In fact, Christian was sure that the man would have grabbed it from its wall mount and snapped it in half if they'd been alone. He couldn't imagine how Sawyer felt viewing the image of the man who'd kidnapped his wife and daughters and subjected them to all that they had.

"Easy," Jason's calm voice cooed, laying his hand on Luke's shoulder and pushing him forward, "Save it; you fuck up here and we're kissing our asses goodbye, Sawyer."

"Slick's dead," Christian reminded Luke, "We're here to end this, not piss off Slick's dad."

"Slick's dead but DeMiro isn't," Luke snapped, then added with eyes as black as a hungry shark, "Not yet."

Christian remembered Slick's own bodyguard briefly, though his memory of actually meeting the disgraced Marine was incredibly sketchy considering he'd spent most of the battle going into shock after the flesh of his arm had melted.

"Save it," Jason repeated firmly and pushed him harder this time, Luke's feet moving forward eventually as they passed the shrine the Esposito family had dedicated to their dead son.

They walked some more in silence before one of the two guards told them to stop outside a heavy oak door. Christian took a deep breath as the first guard knocked and then entered whilst the other stood directly behind them, prepared to herd them in like cattle it felt. He turned to look at Jason who was as cool as a cucumber, and then he looked at Luke who was more like a volcano preparing to blow. Perhaps taking Sawyer was a liability? The man was angry, every time he looked at his daughters his hatred burned all the deeper.

Christian could understand Sawyer's fury; he felt the exact same way about Slick for what he'd done to his boy. The fact that Slick was dead was perhaps Christian's only solace and he was able to focus on his son's recovery. He couldn't imagine how hard it was for Luke to know that the man who'd kidnapped and allowed the torture his daughters was still out there.

The first guard reappeared and grunted at the three of them, "Mr Esposito would like to see you now."

Christian nodded and pushed open the door without a second's hesitation; he was so fucking done with this shit.

"Mr Grey," an elderly voice called and Christian turned to his left to find…a pensioner sat on one of two adjacent sofas.

The man looked older in person than he had on the television mere months ago giving his first press conference. He was wrinkled and small of stature it appeared, wearing a woollen cardigan and a pair of trousers which were cord.

Cord.

What sort of dangerous criminal overlord wore cords?

Jason didn't seem as put off by the sight of the man, neither did Sawyer, but Christian couldn't believe that this man before him had once been a major player in drug and human trafficking in the West coast.

"Mr Esposito," Christian replied courtly, adjusting his lucky grey tie and he burrowed his eyes straight into Stefano Esposito's, "Thank you for meeting us."

"Thank you for coming," Stefano replied, waving his hand over the vacant sofa in front of him, "We've a lot to discuss. Please, take a seat."

"With all due respect," Sawyer choked out bitterly, "I'll stand."

"Fine," Stefano shrugged, looking back at Christian and raising a bushy white eyebrow, "Will you sit?"

Reluctantly, Christian approached the man and parked himself directly across from the human prune, Jason joining him whilst Sawyer kept back in a position which would allow him to react fast if he needed to. "Thank you for having us."

"Thank you for coming," Esposito said, cracking his knuckles and sitting back to study Jason closely, "I'm glad to hear that Mrs Taylor's tumour was non-cancerous."

Christian bit his lip to keep from saying something nasty. This man had paid for everyone's medical treatment. Welch had said that it was both a goodwill gesture and a warning to the family; that he was happy to see everyone recovering but that he also knew exactly where everyone had been from the get go as he'd covered Ryan and Gail's treatments in London. It made Christian sick to think that this evil, vile family had known where his girls were; that his Ana and Phoebe could have been in serious trouble.

"Thank you," Jason said coolly, "It was certainly a relief, especially when I couldn't be with her for security reasons during the surgery itself."

Esposito's lips turned into a smile, "Yes, I would imagine you visiting her would have been dangerous for you, and her; Junior was tenacious when he wanted something done."

"You say 'tenacious', but I prefer the term 'evil'," Jason rebutted, leaning forward onto his knees.

"He wasn't evil," Esposito snapped, his eyes narrowing angrily. He didn't resemble an elderly old man now. In fact, he looked rather intimidating, Christian thought, even for an old man, "He was ill."

"Ill?" Christian echoed, intervening before Jason continued to play bad cop and get them into some serious trouble.

"Junior was always troubled. His childhood psychiatrist told us he had attachment issues," Esposito said and Christian could barely hold back his tongue; _no kidding, old man_. "He was a loner in school, he didn't have much friends. In fact, Damen DeMiro was perhaps the closest thing to a friend Junior had."

"Well that's awkward," Sawyer blurted out, "Because DeMiro, apparently, murdered him."

Esposito narrowed his eyes and looked directly at Christian, "I do not know what possessed Damen to murder my son," he stressed, "Whatever happened between them, whatever argument or feud, he murdered my son."

He was absolutely bullshitting, Christian could tell just by how Jason was shaking his head. Taylor had been there and witnessed DeMiro answering his mobile phone before shooting Slick multiple times and executing him after Ted had been gut shot.

"DeMiro is no friend of my family," Esposito sighed dramatically, before looking back at Christian, "Whatever problems was had between my family and yours…I can assure you are finished with. They died with my son."

"What?" Christian scoffed, "Just like that? Just like that this is done?"

"Junior played a big game, Mr Grey. When I was thirty-nine I was imprisoned and after my sentence I vowed to focus on my family and my community. I needed to protect those I loved and having a….questionable source of income wouldn't cut it," Esposito explained, "Having kids motivated me to move my interests away from crime and venture into legal business plans to safeguard our futures. Junior seemed to think I was a soft touch, that he could make a name for himself as some hard man based on being an Esposito alone. I knew he was into drugs and dabbling with prostitution rings in that fucking building of his. What he didn't understand was that his actions were putting my family at risk."

Christian watched as the old man sat forward angrily and tapped his finger on to coffee table between them. "I told him once, I told him a thousand times that I had his sisters and mother to protect. But would he listen to me? No. My family is my most precious treasure, Mr Grey. I miss my boy every single day, but he's better off dead. There were hundreds of people out there who wanted to see him murdered in the most inhumane way, who would hurt my daughters to get his attention. I can sleep better at nights now knowing that everyone and everything is at rest. I hope you can agree, Mr Grey, that there is nothing better than going to sleep in the knowledge that your loved ones are safe?"

"Are we safe?" Christian asked, point blank, "Is my son safe?"

"Yes," Esposito nodded, crossing his arms over his plump little frame, "Provided he, or anyone else for that matter, doesn't seek out DeMiro."

"What do you mean?" Luke growled, "You've just sat there bullshitting us for twenty minutes that DeMiro shot your son. Aren't you hunting him down to bring your son justice? Are you honestly trying to convince me that you're letting that monster roam free?"

"As long as you don't go looking for DeMiro, everyone is safe," Esposito reiterated, staring at Christian intently as though he were warning him. If they pressed charges and encouraged the manhunt for Damen DeMiro, they would all be in very real and terrifying danger. Ana, Teddy, Phoebe, Gail, Danni, the Sawyer Girls, Nora and Ryan, Reynolds, Craig and Mei, Elliot, Kate, Mia…everyone they knew. They would all be in very real danger.

Not hunting DeMiro worked for Christian; he'd no intentions of doing so especially now that he knew Esposito would not allow it to happen without repercussions to them all. However, Christian knew without even looking at Sawyer that not seeking revenge for his daughters' abuse was not going to happen.

And if Luke ignored Esposito's warning, this nightmare would never end for them all.

Christian turned then to study Luke, unable to read his narrow expression. He wasn't happy but he wasn't giving away his intentions either. Maybe, Christian prayed, he'd realise DeMiro wasn't worth it?

Damn SEALs were so determined.

"I think we've put to sleep some dangerous issues," Jason began, looking at his watch before gazing at Esposito, "Thank you for your time, Sir. But we should head back to our families now."

"Absolutely, Mr Taylor," Esposito smiled, "I'm glad we've come to an understanding. Hopefully you won't be hearing from me again."

"Hopefully not," Christian sighed, unable to take his eyes away from Luke Sawyer's unreadable expression.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter Forty One**

 **.**

 **15th of January**

 **Leaving Stefano Esposito Senior's Residential address,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington,**

 **.**

"You can't go after DeMiro," Christian growled as Luke drove them out of the lion's den. He hadn't realised that his heart was beating as much as it was until he was sat down, beside Taylor, Luke up front to drive them both to safety now that they'd an understanding with Stefano Esposito Senior.

"He captured my family," Luke insisted, shaking his head as he indicated and then turned left onto the country backroads, "I'm not letting him go."

"You have to. They'll kill our families if you go after him," Christian pointed out, glaring furiously at the back of Luke's seat. He couldn't let Sawyer go rogue; he needed him to see logic. Esposito was firm; no harm would fall upon them so long as Damen DeMiro went untouched. Why, Christian did not know. Did he care? No. All he cared about was Ana, Phoebe and Teddy. Everything else was irrelevant.

Sawyer grunted and Christian caught sight of him smirking as he looked in the mirrors, "Well then get your family's life insurance in check, Boss, because I'm going after him. And I'll never stop until his blood is on my KBAR knife," Luke said in a voice which was not his own. It was softer and lower yet his words were cold and calculated. Vengeful; he'd already assigned himself this mission and Christian was terrified that he'd not be able to convince the SEAL not to press for revenge.

"Why does Esposito want him alive?" Christian growled in frustration, turning to his cool headed bodyguard.

"Damen DeMiro is the only man who knows that it was Slick's father who gave the order to kill him," Jason shrugged, "I would imagine that Esposito Senior is frightened he'll report the crimes if he's being hunted. I'd imagine Esposito is tied. He can let Damen go, possibly give him a payoff for his silence and new identities for himself and his wife…or he can kill Damen himself which, if I were him, that's what I'd do. Whatever Esposito wants to do with him though, he doesn't want us getting in the way of it because he's frightened that spoking Damen will cause him to talk to the authorities. Ironically, he's become like Teddy and I; a witness to Esposito's criminality."

"He's a Marine?" Christian reminded himself, "DeMiro."

"A bad one," Jason, again, shrugged, as calm as normal, "It'll be tough to find him because he's well trained in evasion. He deserves to die…but he doesn't deserve execution."

"Execution is too quick," Luke growled once more, "He deserves tortured."

"What about Gail?" Jason called, looking towards Luke's skull himself. He didn't raise his voice like Christian had done, instead he was welcoming a discussion with Luke Sawyer about the fate of Damen and the implications his death would mean for the others. "They'll go after Gail too if Damen's hunted by us. Sophie too; she's your Goddaughter."

That silenced Luke there and completely changed the atmosphere in the car. Christian mentally decided to give Jason a bonus for however the fuck he managed to derail the Torture Train which Sawyer seemed to be driving right now. It was a clever tactic; Gail had offered herself up as bait to get Luke back his daughters, in place of Ana. He owed Gail Taylor his wife and daughters lives.

"I'm handing in my resignation," Luke muttered after nearly five minutes of total silence, "When things calm down I'm moving my family home."

"Home?" Jason echoed curiously, still talking to Sawyer in that calm, inviting tone. He knew how to handle his men, that was obvious.

"Virginia," Luke said before sighing as he pulled out and overtook a lorry, "My brother has a horse ranch with guest accommodation. I want my girls away from the city, somewhere safe. I grew up in Virginia; they'll thrive there."

"Gail and I are looking at Hawaii," Jason sighed, Christian frowning; was Jason resigning too?

"As a vacation," Jason corrected himself, his eyes darting to Christian's for a moment to reassure him that his family would not be losing their head of security, "But we want to scope out retirement possibilities. Maybe check out the Galapagos Islands first. Then Hawaii for a break."

"The Galapagos Islands?" Christian chuckled, deciding to try and keep this friendlier atmosphere going by partaking in stupid small-talk conversation, "Why there?"

"I've no idea," Jason shrugged, "It came up in bed last night."

"How did that come up in bed?" Luke scoffed with a chuckle before he cleared his throat and grunted with a Texan twang; " _Yes, baby, yes, harder. Just like Darwin intended_."

Christian instantly relaxed; joking, fun Sawyer was back and not this vengeful, hating gremlin who'd been with them the rest of this trip.

Jason slapped the back of Luke's skull for his impersonation, Sawyer chuckling away to himself, "No. Actually," Taylor growled, "That's not what happened."

"Then how?" Christian pressed. Of all the places, the Galapagos Islands were just a bizarre and random place to vacation. It was the sort of place his family had watched Nature documentaries on, it wasn't a place he'd want to venture out to himself.

"You really want to know? Fine. Gail hasn't been putting out and I called myself Lonesome George," Jason grumbled, blushing when both Christian and Luke laughed hysterically at him. It was more information than Christian would normally hear Jason willingly admit to, his ears going crimson red as he was laughed at.

"That big motherfucking turtle?" Luke laughed.

"Tortoise," Christian corrected, "Tortoises don't swim."

"So he couldn't get his shell wet, let alone his dick?" Luke joked, Jason kicking Luke's chair now as the banter become too close to the tooth for him.

"Gail's afraid to hurt me," Jason shrugged, reaching into his pocket for his medication now that they'd had an audience with the elderly Esposito.

"I feel for you, brother. The minute my wiring came off, Danni had me exercising my jaw. Good as knew," Luke declared, Christian laughing lowly to himself. Ana, for all she was worried for Christian's arm, was not treating him like a porcelain doll. Day one of being home and they'd ended up spending the morning in the bedroom under the pretence to everyone else in the house that they were 'napping'.

"Almost at the rehabilitation centre, Mr Grey," Luke called, Christian looking forward as they turned around the familiar milestones which lead to the place Christian both hated and loved.

"Thompson and Stonehouse are waiting there, Sir," Luke added, checking his messages at a red light, "I'll take Lonesome George here back to Gail and come back for the three of you in a couple of hours?"

"Thank you, Sawyer," Christian nodded, spotting the two bodyguards waiting for Christian by a Ford truck. They pulled up and only when he'd permission from the two men did he climb out of the vehicle.

"Mr Grey," Stonehouse nodded, the stricter of the two, "Please, come this way."

Christian did as instructed, not turning round as he hurried inside where it would be safer. The parking lot was open and surrounded by high buildings; it didn't take a security expert to know that this was a vulnerable place to spend too long in. Despite the successful meeting with Stefano Esposito Senior, Christian did not want to take any risks. He'd already been shot by a sniper and, had it not been for Ryan taking the bullet on instinct, Christian would have died and he'd have never aided in the recovery of Ted and Jason…a thought which didn't bare thinking about to the father.

Walking through the Rehabilitation Centre, Christian found himself smiling and waving at the nurses who he'd come to know and, ever so slightly, love during his rehabilitation stay. It was hard not to feel affection for the men and women pumping him full of medication to soothe his painful arm. They were kind, patient and exceptionally supportive to Christian, particularly when he was frustrated and grumpy. They'd welcomed his whole family into their unit and had been points of comfort for Ana and Phoebe when the sight of Christian and Ted proved too much for his ladies. For the staff's kindness, he would forever be in debt.

Turning left and entering a room of white walls and yellow equipment, Christian spotted Teddy stood gripping two balance bars with all his might as he slowly moved his body forward unsteadily. He didn't notice his father entering as all his energy was focused on just staying up right and moving ever so slightly forward. Christian held his breath; it had been so long since he'd seen his son look remotely better. Watching him stagger forward, he had to wipe his eyes of tears.

"Well done, Ted," the nurse behind him cooed, "Are you okay?"

"Yup," Teddy croaked, Christian able to see his forearms shaking badly as he held his body weight.

"You've got this, Tedster," Ryan called, Christian looking to the corner of the room and spotting his son's former CPO. There had been a period of Teddy's life where he'd never went anywhere without Ryan, the man a massive support to his son through all the stages in his life; first days to playschool, kindergarten and 'big boy' school, sports days, school musicals, soccer games…Ryan had been present for them all as he guarded the young Grey. It had only been as Ted's behaviour worsened that Ryan had stepped back and was replaced by Sawyer and Reynolds, both men not bothered about being harsh to the rebelling teen. It was nice to see Ryan here with Teddy now, supporting him like he'd always done.

Ryan stood up and grew straight when he spotted Christian watching him from the open door. He was dressed in denims and a t-shirt with some obscure picture of Mario and Luigi on the chest, his hair flat under a baseball cap which he removed, "Mr Grey."

"Hey dad," Teddy called, his legs stiff and weak from months of being bedbound and recovering from that hellish gut shot wound. The nurse was right behind him, ready to catch him if his legs went. She smiled at Christian momentarily but her entire focus was for Teddy.

"Hey, Son. Keep going," Christian pressed, not really looking at Ryan as he also focused entirely on Teddy and walked to the end of the balance beams and willing his son to stagger forward. Teddy was exhausted though, the extent of his injuries were obvious to Christian now. He'd anticipated that it would be a long time until Teddy could walk unaided but he hadn't appreciated how much effort that would require for the young man. Teddy was just still so weak, his buzzcut, which he'd given himself earlier in solidarity with Jason and Gail, had now grown out and was making him look older than he was. His lack of ear still crept Christian out and made him feel physically sick as he imagined just how close his baby boy had come to having a bullet through his skull.

Teddy nodded and focused once more on walking, his arms shaking from effort. He stumbled and the nurse caught him, Christian grabbing the wheelchair beside Ryan and bringing it to his son to sit.

"Damn," Teddy panted, head back as he continued to shake, "Fuck."

"You did amazingly, Teddy," the nurse insisted, "You got further than anyone could have hoped. Focus on your breathing."

Teddy nodded, looking at Ryan and then at Christian, forcing a smile, "Hi, dad."

"Hey, Son," Christian echoed, crouching down to Teddy's level, "I'm so proud of you managing that walk there. You honestly did phenomenally. You'll get to the end next time, I'm sure."

Teddy nodded, focusing on breathing rather than talking.

"How did your meeting go today, Mr Grey?" Ryan asked as the nurse gave them a few moments of privacy, "Teddy said that you, Taylor and Sawyer were visiting Stefano Esposito."

"I did," Christian said, licking his lips as he looked at his gorgeous boy panting in his wheelchair. In an instant, Christian was reminded of the first time he'd held his son and how wonderfully terrified he'd been. Never in Christian's life had he expected to love someone as much as he loved Ana but then along came his children who taught him a love more powerful than anything Ana had done. In that moment, with his newly born son in his arms, Christian had been terrified of all the badness in the world and all the dangers he had to protect his vulnerable son from.

Watching his adult boy looking at him so hopefully now, the feelings of terror were no different. Christian was terrified for Teddy; he was worried that Luke Sawyer would seek revenge and that Christian's son would once more be a wanted man; that there would never be an instance where Teddy could live a normal life after this situation.

"How was it?" Teddy pressed, still a little wheezy.

Again, Christian licked his lips and then winked, "It went fine, Ted. He's a very nice man I think. Fair. As long as we're happy to leave this mess behind us, so is he. If the press ask, just 'no-comment' them."

The relief in Teddy was obvious. He let out a breath and smiled softly, his body slumping with expelled tension. Laughter soon followed, wheezy and raspy, but laughter all the same, "I can't believe this is over."

"You just focus on getting home now," Christian promised, squeezing Teddy's hand, "Everything else is being handled by Welch and Taylor. We'll keep security here for the time being but it's all going to be okay now, son. You're safe."

"Thank you, dad," Teddy said before he began to cry. Christian stood and pulled his son forward so that Ted could cry against his abdomen, "Thank you for coming for me. Thank you for saving me. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"You're my son, Ted. I would never let harm come to you," Christian insisted, stroking the back of Teddy's skull, "I love you."

"I love you too, dad," Teddy choked, sobbing against his father.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter Forty Two**

 **.**

 **Meanwhile…**

 **Pulling into Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington,**

.

Sawyer pulled up in the security parking lot behind the Taylor's garden, his knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel tightly. After their meeting with Esposito he just couldn't get DeMiro off his mind. He was physically sick with rage and anger and betrayal; how could Jason and Grey be okay with just letting that monster go after he kidnapped Sawyer's girls?

Jason's Jaguar was parked across the lot, tucked up beside Reynold's BMW. Luke parked up beside it and turned off the engine. Ana was talking to one of the security detail, Steve, doing a perimeter check. Luke watched as the tubby man pointed towards the fence that ran around the property, possibly highlighting his concerns. They were chatting in a friendly way, however, and both Ana and Steve waved at Luke and Taylor.

"How are you feeling?" Luke asked then, Jason having had to jump in the front beside him because his medication was making him nauseated again.

"Sick," Jason grunted, shaking his head as he quickly opened his door and ran for the bushes.

"Hey, Taylo-oh," Luke heard Ana call as he climbed out after Jason, the big bear hurling up his coffee and breakfast donut. She turned to Luke, "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, just his meds and the traveling," Luke shrugged. He nodded then to the point in the fence that he'd seen the security man pointing at, "There a problem here, Steve?"

"The Taylors bulldog has been digging there," Steve said, "I was just letting Mrs Grey know."

"Bloody mutt," Luke grumbled, shaking his head as Taylor staggered back over, "You hear that? Your ugly mutt's been digging by the electric fence."

"He'll learn his lesson when he gets zapped," Jason shrugged, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

"Or you could reel him in and have him stop getting in the fucking way," Luke snapped. His tone of voice even shocked himself, Jason, Ana and poor Steve looking up at Luke as if he'd just dropped the N-word in front of Reynolds' better half. The fact of the matter was that Luke was reeling from their meeting with Esposito; he'd promised his wife that he would hunt Damen DeMiro down and exterminate him in the cruellest, most dragged out method possible but now he knew that fulfilling Danni's request to murder would doom the people he loved. The confliction was hurting his brain and all he wanted to do was beat the shit out of DeMiro.

"He's on my property," Jason reminded Luke, straightening up despite the greyness of his cheeks, "I will speak to Mr and Mrs Grey if there's serious issues with Lesley."

"Good," Luke spat, turning and heading towards his wife. "Get him dealt with."

"Are you threatening me?" Jason challenged and Luke stopped in his tracks.

"Guys," Ana said lowly, no doubt tasting the testosterone in the air.

"No. I'm threating that ugly dog of yours," Luke pointed out, turning back around and pointing directly at Jason, "I'm sick of seeing it's wrinkly scrotum face panting around me."

"If you've got an issue, Son, say it to my face. Don't bottle it up," Jason said calmly, though those dark navy eyes were narrowed as he glared at Luke. He loved that damn bulldog as much as, if not occasionally more than, Gail. Luke knew he took any negative comments to Lesley as a personal attack.

"I've no issue," Luke growled, "There wont be one either if you keep that mutt on a leash."

What the fuck was he saying? Luke had no idea what was going on. All he knew was that he needed to either fight or fuck; he was so strung up after today. The longer he was kept from Danni, the more likely it would be that his fist would be going through the plaster wall.

"Back down, Sawyer," Jason challenged, no more 'son' now. He stepped forward, closing the gap between them, "I'm not going to warn you again. There's nothing to be this pissed off about; we're safe. It's over. Calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down; It's not over yet," Luke said in a voice which was louder than he'd intended in front of Ana and fumbling Steve, "Not while that bastard still breathes."

"I told you; don't go after him," Jason snarled, "You'll kill us all."

"Guys!" Ana shouted.

"You don't know that-" Luke scoffed, then gasped as Jason's large bear paw grabbed his throat and squeezed.

"You heard what Esposito said," Jason reminded him, "You're my bestfriend, Luke, don't hurt me like this. Calm dow-"

Luke kicked Jason in the gut, causing him to drop his arm from Luke's throat. A firm shove and Jason was on the ground, falling square on his back which caused him to gasp out loud as he no doubt jerked his bad arm. Luke didn't hesitate and lunged on top of Jason, punching him in the face.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do!" Luke shouted.

"Sawyer! Taylor!" Ana screamed, "Steve, do something!"

Jason landed a good punch to Luke's jaw which hurt like hell, but not as much as the knee to the ballocks he then received. Still, Luke did not get off of Jason, punching him in blind rage.

Damen had captured his daughters. He'd left them with more Esposito's goons who'd threatened to kill them, threatened to touch them, threatened to rape them. Luke's daughters. Some motherfucking mad man had told Danni that he'd rape their teenage daughter. It turned Luke's stomach and fuelled his rage, the punches still coming despite Jason's attempts at fighting back.

"Get off him!" Ana ordered and Luke felt her try to pry him from Jason's body but Luke couldn't let go; he couldn't stop this out of control fury now that he'd started.

"Luke!" Gail shouted now as she appeared from somewhere with more security guards in tail. Three men grabbed and yanked Luke off Jason, another two kneeling by Jason and checking him over, "Luke how could you?"

Gail was staring at him with tears in her cat-like green eyes. Ana was rubbing her back, the pair stood between Luke and Jason now that they'd been separated. Luke panted, becoming aware of his bloodied nose as he watched Jason being sat up, cradling his arm as he spat blood out onto the gravel floor. He didn't make eye contact, didn't say a thing as Steve got behind him and lifted him up onto his feet carefully.

"Jason," Luke called, the mist of rage which had taken over his mind and body clearing and leaving a crippling guilt in its place; he'd hurt his bestfriend, "Jason, I'm sorry."

"Fuck off, Sawyer," Jason groaned, spitting a little more, "Stay away from me."

"Jason-"

"Back off," Jason threatened, Luke watching as Gail left Ana's side and went to her husband, "I'm okay," he mumbled, then winced when he jarred his arm, "I just need to lie down," he mumbled, Gail wrapping her arm around Jason's back and guiding him towards their cottage with the help of fumbling Steve. As they did so, Danni appeared, running into the lot in her sneakers and jeans.

Instantly, Luke felt his stomach churn; he didn't want to disappoint his wife but he didn't want to hurt Jason by going after DeMiro. He didn't know what the fuck to do and it was making Luke sick with the confliction.

"Luke, what happened?" Danni gasped, looking at Jason and Gail, then Ana, then all the men around them before kneeling beside Luke himself. She took his hand, squeezing it tightly as she studied his bleeding face.

"Your husband's a sociopath," Jason answered for him, spitting for a final time before disappearing into his garden with Gail.

"Jason and I had a bit of a fall out," Luke translated, smiling thinly at Danni before kissing her softly, "It's okay though, nothing to worry about."

"Luke, I think you should go into the mansion and stay away from the Taylors for a while," Ana snipped, unimpressed by Luke's actions either. Not that Luke cared what anyone else thought about him at that moment.

All he cared about, all that mattered to him, were his girls; Danni and his daughters. He knew he was going to go after Damen, his soul would never rest easy for as long as that monster lived. But Luke knew full well that going after Damen meant he would lose his bestfriends.


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter Forty Three**

 **.**

 **Grey Mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle,**

 **Washington.**

 **.**

 **.**

Walking hurt.

Walking home felt great.

"You gonna be okay?" Ryan called, carrying Teddy's walking stick round to him as he attempted to get out of the car unaided. He failed, but Ryan's big hands were there to help lift him forward.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," Teddy promised, slowly straightening himself up and looking towards his family home; Grey Mansion. His eyes became wet with tears and his lips formed a tight, wobbly line across his face. He couldn't believe he was home.

"It's a lot, isn't it?" Ryan asked, standing right behind Teddy so that he could lean and rest a moment just to take in the house before him.

Words failed Teddy and he could just nod in agreement, closing his eyes as the tears fell down his cheeks. He'd taken for granted this place and all the memories he'd attached to the grand front door. So many people had walked into their lives through that door and some would never walk through that door again.

The moment mom and dad walked in carrying Phoebe and completing their perfect young family. Gail had looked after Teddy and together they'd hung banners and balloons and made cupcakes for his parents arrival.

That time mommy, Phoebe and Teddy had waited for dad to walk through the door so that they could soak him with water balloons and water pistols and how dad had grabbed Phoebe and used her as a human shield till he got a bucket of water himself.

Aunty Kate and Mom stumbling in drunk with Aunty Mia on her birthday when Teddy was five. Kate had spilled her cocktail on the floor and Aunt Mia had live tweeted their arrival home to the entire world…even though all three women were bedded for dinner.

Dad trying to carry Teddy from the car in his arms gently so as not to completely waken him up. He'd come back for Phoebe or Taylor would get her, but in that moment Dad had cradled Teddy so warmly that he'd possibly never felt as safe in his entire life.

When Dad let Taylor use their grand staircase for every one of Sophie's important photos; her first school dance, the daddy daughter ball, sweet sixteenth, graduation, proms, winter flings. Any occasion Taylor deemed special he wanted to capture the moment in the exact same spot.

The countless nights waving Stephen away when his parents came to collect him…

When Grandma and Grandpa Carrick left Phoebe's birthday party and Grandma had died of a stroke three days later…

When Grandpa Carrick died only a few months later…

Teddy never thought he'd walk through these doors again; he'd genuinely believed that himself and Taylor were going to die horrible, torturous deaths yet here he was, with his best friend holding him up strong and his family waiting inside desperately for him. Teddy had asked that Ryan be the one to bring him home; he knew dad was still recovering and also that mom wasn't strong enough to hold Teddy up when he couldn't do it himself.

"I can't believe I'm here," Teddy finally managed to say, his jaw wobbling, "I can't believe we survived."

"I can," Ryan assured him, "Your dad employed the best of the best to keep you safe. Christian wouldn't let harm come to you, nor would Taylor. I can't believe I survived; gunshot to the throat trumps a gut shot."

"Chicks dig facial scars," Teddy laughed, turning slightly to look at Ryan's wounded neck. It was a relatively tame scar compared to those on his father or on Taylor, but it certainly marred Ryan's boyishness which he'd become infamous for. "You look more like a US Ranger now, rather than a Boy Scout."

"Sawyer reckons I should give myself a cool nickname," Ryan yapped away, taking all of Teddy's weight with ease, "Like Snake or Scarface."

"Better than being called the Kid, huh?" Teddy chuckled, taking hold of his stick and limping forward once he was comfortable and felt steady on his feet, "Who's all here?"

"Mr and Mrs Grey and Miss Grey," Ryan smiled, "And Mr and Mrs Grey and Miss Grey Mark Two. And Miss Grey….the older one."

"So mom, dad, Phoebe, Uncle Elliot, Aunty Kate and Ava and Aunty Mia?" Teddy translated, shaking his head at his bodyguard, "Who else?"

"Taylor and Gail," Ryan said and then coughed, "Sawyer sent his best wishes but…it's a long story but he's resigned."

"Mom mentioned something about that," Teddy frowned, pausing to look towards the drive round to the staff car park. He couldn't imagine never seeing Sawyer's dope Subaru Impreza WRX sitting in the sun when Ted looked out his window. The car was a beastly thing; a special type of blue which shimmered green, lime green stickers and stripes, spoilers and tinted windows. It made a real, throaty growl whenever it drove past and it had been the bain of dad's life because the bastardly thing was so noisy. Ted loved it though; Sawyer had once let Ted have a go and it was wild.

"I can't believe Sawyer's gone," Ted sighed, knowing his mom must be gutted to lose her right hand man of nearly two decades.

"I think everyone is. Reynolds will be along later tonight but he's got a meeting with his accountant; I think he's resigning too or he's going to take an hours reduction," Ryan added, walking a step behind Ted.

"Are you leaving?" Teddy asked, feeling his stomach suddenly twist; he'd run Luke and Reynolds away, he couldn't bear losing Ryan or even Jason. He'd do anything to keep them both by his side.

"Naaaah, I'm staying. There's nowhere else for me to go," Ryan smiled brightly, instantly calming Teddy's apprehension, "I grew up in care; this place, you guys, are like the family I always wanted."

"I'm so glad," Teddy nodded, looking back to the house, "What about Welch? Is he alright?"

"He's here, actually," Ryan smiled again, "And the SEAL, Callum, who helped you guys up at the lodge. I think your dad's keen to offer him a job."

Teddy nodded and then looked towards the house, taking a deep breath. He grabbed onto Ryan's hand to help him get up the stairs before pausing by the large front door. This was it; he'd come home.

"Oh geez," Teddy breathed, pushing down on the handle and walking into the grand reception room.

Instantly, he was met by the warm and welcoming scent of Gail's home baking; vanilla cupcakes, Teddy's absolute favourite. He took his first tentative step onto the marble tiled floor, Ryan coming in behind and closing that heavy door.

"Through the house," Ryan directed, nodding towards the family kitchen before taking his shoes off and laying them in a perfect line against the wall.

Teddy smiled at the oddball and shook his head, taking slow and paced steps onwards. He could hear voices ahead of him; chatting and laughing. Dad was telling a story by the sounds of it and mom, Kate, Mia and Elliot were laughing along. A slightly deeper voice, Uncle Elliot Ted was sure, said something next which brought about more hilarity.

Eager to join in, Teddy opened the door to the kitchen and braced himself. It seemed stupid to tense up and brace but he needed to prepare himself for seeing his family and friends all in one room for the first time in what felt like forever.

"Hey guys," he called out to them, a silence befalling them all as each on turned to face him. Instantly, Teddy felt himself panic; he had to fight the urge not to revert back to his old self and curse them all out of defence.

Mom was sat beside Aunty Kate, Dad and Aunty Mia by the sofas, Uncle Elliot stood by the breakfast bar where Gail had just placed fresh cupcakes out on a cooling rack. Phoebe and Taylor were conversing with Welch, all three pausing mid word to stare at Teddy too. No one said a word, no one jumped up to embrace him. They just stared at him like a three headed goat and it was seriously unnerving.

 _God what the fuck were they staring at? Fuck them!_

Teddy swallowed again, taking a step back and banging against the broad expanse of Ryan's chest. There was no escape, there was nowhere to run to and nowhere to hide. He couldn't drive himself back to the hospital and he absolutely was never going to manage the stairs to his bedroom alone. There was truly nowhere for Teddy to shelter from their judgemental eyes and it was making him panic.

 _God, please, someone say someth-_

Gail came round the breakfast bar suddenly, her short pixie hair looking more thick and healthy every day Ted saw her. She didn't give him a moment to prepare himself, standing on her tiptoes and throwing her arms around Teddy's neck.

"Thank you for going back and saving my husband," Gail croaked and Teddy realised she was crying against him. What the hell? At no point had Gail ever cried when she'd visited Teddy in the hospital. Why now? Instinctively, he wrapped an arm around Gail's waist and looked towards Taylor who was slowly nodding his encouragements. Phoebe turned towards their father's bodyguard and was embraced by the massive bear as she, too, cried.

"I love you, Gail," Teddy promised, letting her squeeze him before his eyes finally brave a look towards his parents. To his horror, mom was sobbing into her hands, dad biting his fist as he, too, became overwhelmed with emotion. _What the fuck was going on?_

"Ted, I can't believe you're home," Kate said for his parents, wiping her eyes and smiling through tears. She wrapped her arms around mom to comfort her, Elliot squeezing dad's shoulder manfully, "We're all a little lost for words."

Oh dear Lord their silence wasn't in judgement, it was in shock that Teddy had managed to survive and get home. They'd all been struck by reality; everyone had survived that horrible ordeal.

Mom finally found her feet and stumbled over to him next, bundling Teddy up into her arms and sobbing against his chest. Teddy did his best to support her though his own legs were starting to shake with effort.

"I'm so sorry mom," Teddy choked himself, overcome with his own emotions; he couldn't believe how much his coming home meant to everyone in the room.

"I love you so much you stupid boy," Mom croaked, slapping his shoulder, "Never, ever, ever put us through this again. I wont lose you again."

"Ted," Dad mumbled, Teddy's eyes opening to find his father before him. He'd been through hell for Teddy; his face, although healed nicely, had received damage to the pigmentation which would be permanent regardless of how much bio-oil mom lubed up on it. Likewise, his arm showed no signs of getting back full function. He could just move his fingers and no more, but mobility was absolutely limited and he needed to have it propped up in a sling for support.

Yet here dad was, crying at Teddy's return. They all were and it was breaking Teddy's own heart; how could he have been such a bastard to these people? How could he have been such an absolute fucking brat to them? How could he ever have blamed mom or Taylor or Ryan for Stephen's death and moreover how could he have hated everyone else for it?

"I'm home," Teddy choked through the tears, "I'm home guys."

.

.

 **Two weeks later…**

 **.**

 **The Company Canteen,**

 **Grey Enterprise and Holdings,**

 **Seattle,**

 **.**

"Thank you to everyone for coming today. There will be an opportunity at the end for questions however I'm under no obligation to answer them," Christian said directly into his microphone, stood before a crowd of antsy journalists and financial tycoons. Due to the sheer size of the turn out, their colleagues had cleared the company's canteen and assembled the collapsible stage and company podium in record time, using yards of grey material to cover up the lunch menu and add an air of professionalism to this meeting.

The clicking of cameras had stopped at Welch' request before Christian and Taylor walked out upon the stage a few moments after Roz and the Senior Team members. It was too close to the sound of gunshots and unnerving to say the least. Neither man would admit to the other, but they both were suffering in their sleep. Jason couldn't switch off and whenever he did he saw Teddy taking the gut shot for him. From the CCTV cameras, Jason could see that Christian was experiencing a similar bout of Insomnia.

Christian was absolutely right that he was under no obligation to answer any questions thrown his way this morning but Jason reckoned that he should at least attempt some. After all, this was his very first public interview and already it was being screened globally. There were so many questions in the air, so many uncertainties about Christian's future with his business and what that would mean for GEH and its thousands of investments and employees. There was tension in the air, Jason could practically taste it as he took his position by Christian's right hand side and glared down at their guests.

As he was technically still on sick leave, Jason had nothing to do with the organisation of this press conference. Usually, if he were calling the shots, he'd have everyone ID'ed and fingerprinted on entry after lengthy background checks on each media channel representative; anyone who objected would be told to fuck off.

Ryan would be on hand as everyone entered because the kid's photographic memory was practically superhuman and he had this amazing ability where he'd remember every exact detail of a person entering GEH. This gift had proven useful when he'd spotted that Miss Jessica Myers had left her handbag once on her exit of the building. A lockdown on Grey was performed and Myers handbag was found in the boardroom containing an improvised device that saw her imprisoned for a very, very, VERY long time.

Today Welch had organised everything, and he'd done his best to meet Jason's skyhigh standards. He'd gone over and above on security checks, running names and faces by Jason first before passing credentials off to his personal team to ensure Christian was safe throughout his first public appearance.

Jason sighed, wishing he'd scratching his balls before this meeting. His eyes skimmed the crowd and he tried to recognise the faces and brands before him; The Economist… Thompson from the BBC… That was Abbey from Fox… ABC News… NDTV India… of course The Wall Street Journal… Al Jazeera… Sky News… Euronews… Al Arabiya… Fake News favourite CNN… CGTN...

The faces sat before Jason on the floor were varied in race and creed. Christian's absence had sparked global financial unease so to hear the man himself discuss his future to the business world was a big deal. Particularly when GEH now had businesses in nearly every country in the world, with their key HQs being in Seattle, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Rome, Cairo, Sydney, Shanghai and Bangladesh. It was a big deal to a lot of world leaders that Christian Grey return to his company like some Economic Messiah. Jason's job today was to stand beside Christian like expected to make everything seem normal. Gail had had to help him get dressed up for the occasion because his suits were still too hard to do completely with his healing arm.

Jason smirked and looked at Grey as he continued to address the crowd; _Economic Messiah_. He'd better not let Christian hear himself being called that. The guy's ego was already the size of China.

"First and foremost I'd like to thank you all for coming. I understand its short notice and as a thank you, _**my**_ company will reimburse your travel fares," Christian said, clearing his throat with a glass of cold water, "I also appreciate that my security team has been more rigorous than normal so, again, thank you for your attendance."

Good guy, Grey. That saw a lot of applause, particularly from those media representatives from countries which were poorer than others.

Clever Grey, too. By referring to GEH as ' _my company_ ' he was instantly setting the tone for this whole stupid meeting; despite his injuries, despite the terror his family faced, Christian Grey was not going anywhere. Just like it should be.

"Secondly," Christian continued, using his good arm to prop himself up more casually on the podium so that he looked more confident and natural, "I will be resuming my duties as CEO of Grey Enterprises and Holdings with immediate effect starting this coming Monday. Regular trading will continue as normal. GEH will continue as normal. I cannot stress this enough; there has been no changes to the business during my absence and I would like to personally thank stock holders and our business partners for not panicking and remaining calm despite the media hysteria and exaggerations. Their tenacity and confidence in our business has been awe inspiring and exceptionally supportive to myself and my team during this tough period."

Ros nodded towards Christian and the pair exchanged a knowing look. She'd been exceptional at running the business in Christian's absence; she'd kept everything afloat and, although there were losses due to the appearance of instability, nothing which couldn't be undone had occurred. Jason was pleasantly shocked to find GEH building still standing if he were being honest so maybe Grey would realise now that he could take more extended holidays and periods of absence. That would mean Jason could spend a little more time relaxing himself.

"My son, Theodore, is recovering well," Christian continued, "He's working hard with both his physiotherapy team and his family around him. We are all anticipating a full recovery. As was said earlier by my press officer, I thank you all for allowing my family the privacy it needs to move forward together. Now, finally, I just want to take a moment to express my gratitude publically to those who have helped myself and my family in these last few months. Firstly, the Canadian police and medical teams who assisted my family and friends. I'd also like to thank SPD forces for their support in the legality of our situation and also the nurses and doctors of The Seattle Medical Rehabilitation Centre. Finally I would like to thank the men who came to my son's aid. For security reasons, I cannot name them, but they know who they are and my family will be forever be in their debt."

Grey looked directly at Jason then and gave him a firm, confident nod. It was nice to feel acknowledged, Jason thought, winking back at him before looking out towards one of Welch's hired thugs who was whispering something into his piece and looking about in a shifty manner.

Weird.

Instantly, Jason felt his chest clench in panic as he watched the security member leave his position suddenly, moving with purpose towards the other end of the hall.

What was going on? Was Esposito here? Was someone going to try an assassinate Christian after everything?

Christian obviously noticed the movement at the back of the hall too because his speech faltered slightly and he looked towards Jason quickly for reassurance. But Jason didn't know what was going on; he was technically not working so he didn't have his piece and shit shit shit what was-

The security thug entered the men's room.

There was nothing wrong; Welch's boy just needed a piss. But fuck...Jason's chest ached. Jason was certain he was having a heart attack and, by the looks of Christian, the man had nearly pissed himself too. What the fuck had become of them?

"I wont be taking any questions ah-as I believe I've covered the main points," Christian stuttered a little, looking at Taylor directly for assistance in escaping because damn-fucking-it both men were quaking even though there was clearly no danger. Their nerves were shot to fuck.

The audience before Grey didn't seem to like that sudden and unscripted end to the press meeting and they began to fire questions and shout for Christian's attention regardless, adding to the feeling of chaos both men were experiencing.

Taylor went to taking Christian's good arm to help steer him back through to the nearest exit but he was stopped by a loud and unexpected **BANG** which had him freeze in spot.

Images of Teddy taking that gut shot to the chest flooded Jason's mind. In an instant, he was back in that woods, beaten and bloody with his arm haemorrhaging blood from his burst forearm. Teddy's weight hit his chest and knocked them both back as the momentum of the bullet pushed the youngster back against Jason, Teddy making a deathly grunt noise as he fell-

"Jason? Jason, look at me. It was someone in the audience. They knocked over a camera," Christian said firmly to Jason, grabbing his arm now and pulling him away with Welch and Ros in tow.

He pushed Jason ahead and into the fire stairwell located at the back of the canteen, Ros's heels echoing around them in the white, clinical like corridor.

"What the hell was that, Christian?" she growled, "You were supposed to try and answer at least some of their questions!"

Christian ignored her and pointed at Welch, "Your guy gave us heart attacks. What was he doing leaving his post? We thought Esposito was coming for us!"

"I told him he could go to the bathroom," Welch defended, but didn't shout. His Bostonian accent always sounded firm and in control without having to really raise his voice anyway, "He announced on the speaker that he'd diarrhoea. I was in complete control of that whole operation. Don't you have faith in me?"

Fuuuuck, Jason was going to be sick; his head was in a dark place. Teddy was in his arms, dying and he was too weak to help him, too weak to save him and Damen, god Damen had shot Slick and-

Jason turned his back on the other three and proceeded to hurl in the corner of the fire stairwell, shaking.

"For fuck sake, Jason," Ros gagged, "Really?"

"Leave him alone," Christian snapped, slumping down the wall to his ass, "He's panicked. I'm panicked. Can you give us a moment to calm the fuck down before I think of how to fix this press meeting?"

"There's no fixing it; the damage is done," Ros snapped, "I knew you weren't ready to come back so soon."

"I am ready," Christian spat, "I wasn't expecting that and I let my imagination run away a little. Taylor, are you alright?"

"Sorry," Jason choked, standing back up with effort, "Sorry, I just…" he didn't really know what to say to Christian. That he couldn't escape the feeling of the man's son nearly dying in his arms?

"I need to go home," Jason admitted, shaking his head, "I need Gail."

Christian nodded and then sighed, turning to Welch, "Was that press conference as bad as Ros is making it out to be?"

"As a lay person; it was fine," Welch said, Ros cursing, "It was a sudden ending but I reckon you got away with it just fine. Make a point of apologising for the rush at the end during the next one and you'll be slammin'."

"Good," Christian mumbled, running his good hand through his copper hair and studying the fire stairwell, "Get me home to Ana, Welch. I want to see my family."


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter Forty Four**

 **.**

 **13** **th** **of March,**

 **Grey Mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle,**

 **.**

Phoebe rubbed her finger along the unopened letter Teddy had sent her before he was almost fatally shot. She knew Ryan had opened his but Phoebe, mom and Gail had made a pact not to open theirs unless they needed to; if their loved ones died.

In total, Phoebe had three letters, one from each of the men in her life; Dad, Taylor and Teddy; yet it was her brother's which Phoebe couldn't imagine opening, even if he did die in Canada. It sounded backwards, it felt backwards, but Teddy's behaviour as a teen had shaped their relationship; Teddy had not been the big brother he should have been.

Like always, it was the Teddy Show and Phoebe was merely just a secondary act. Or at least that's what it felt like growing up.

' _Oh Teddy's drunk, Phoebe, we have to take him to get his stomach pumped.'_

' _Has Teddy text you, Phoebe? He's run away and Taylor can't find him.'_

' _Teddy's in hospital; he was fighting.'_

' _Sorry, Phoebe, I need to get your brother from the police station.'_

' _I'm sorry, Phoebe, you're brother's helped himself to your baking.'_

Teddy had been selfish, his actions consuming her parent's time and causing Phoebe to feel a little…alienated. They always apologised for it and Phoebe was mature enough at a young age to know that it wasn't her parents fault. But Teddy never once apologised. And she hated him for it.

She hated him.

She hated how he treated mom, how he treated Taylor, how he treated everyone who wasn't supplying him alcohol for his benders. Yes, Stephen's death had been harsh but grow the fuck up and deal with your problems like a man, was what Phoebe thought. He wasn't the only one who had witnessed a tragedy. For years after, Phoebe had needed counselling; she'd draw Stephen hanging from the tree and it upset the other children in her class, particularly when she then drew Taylor and Mom and Ryan crying beside his lifeless body. But she had been there for the people she loved. She worked hard and behaved impeccably for mom and dad when she knew mom was having 'A Black Dog Day' and she would hold Taylor's hand whenever she saw him looking at the garden quietly, remembering how he couldn't save Stephen. She helped Gail, she helped Dad; she stepped up even though she was merely a child.

But Teddy hadn't. Teddy had become nasty and wicked and deliberately sadistic. One time she'd caught him playing with Taylor's motorcycle and she'd told Sawyer straight away because she didn't trust him not to cut the breaks or slash the tires or something because that was how spiteful he'd been as a teenager.

And here they were again; the Teddy Show. He'd fucked up and nearly gotten everyone Phoebe loved killed. Some poor man named Jackson had died, the Sawyer girls had been kidnapped; and Phoebe hated Teddy for it.

"Hey Phoebe," Dad called, knocking at the door, "Can I come in?"

"Uh," Phoebe replied, stuffing the letters under her pillow, "Sure, come in."

Dad walked in, a plate of Chinese food in his good hand, a can of Pepsi resting in his sling, "Gail's not feeling great tonight so we ordered Chinese; Sweet and Sour Pork."

Phoebe's stomach growled and she couldn't help but smile up at her dad, "Thanks. Is Gail okay?"

"She took a funny turn," Dad said, carrying her plate to her bed and sitting it down on the mattress carefully, "She was in the middle of boiling pasta and then suddenly threw up on the hob. Out of nowhere. She was mortified."

"Oh my gosh," Phoebe frowned, "What a shame."

"It shocked us all; Taylor, your mom and myself were in the kitchen at the time. Mom helped her to the sink though and then Taylor took her through to bed while I cleaned," Dad grinned, "That's right; I cleaned up vomit."

"I'm proud," Phoebe said sarcastically, "How many times has that woman cleaned up your mess?"

"I've never thrown up anywhere but the bathroom," Dad pouted, "You and Teddy, however; you once projectile vomited the length of Manhattan."

"That's just the image I wanted before I started eating," Phoebe rolled her eyes, cracking open her soda and taking a long, relaxing gulp.

"Yeah, I know. Your mom said you had cramps so I thought I'd bring you dinner in bed; I was the only one brave enough to come up here," Dad winked, "There's chocolate in the fridge if you need it too."

"Thanks dad," Phoebe laughed as her father made for her door. Phoebe was almost always polite and friendly but when she was PMS-ing she knew she could be a bitch. The only people brave enough to approach her were dad and Taylor. Mom and Gail usually wound up taking the brunt of Phoebe's frustrations because they were women; men just seemed to stay clear of her and interacted the bare minimum.

"Is Teddy around?" Phoebe asked, "I wanted a word with him."

"He's in his room eating too," Dad said, "Ryan's just left. You're not about to go and be a dragon to him, are you?"

"Of course not," Phoebe snorted, "I just want to speak to him."

"I'm just saying be mindful is all," Dad teased, "Catch you later, sport."

"Thanks for dinner, dad," Phoebe called, waiting until she heard her father's feet going down the stairs before she got up and headed to Teddy's door. She didn't knock; she didn't want him to turn her away because she needed to speak with him now.

"Phoebe?" Teddy frowned, sitting up and pulling his blanket over bare scarred chest, "What are you doing?"

"I hate you," Phoebe blurted out because dammit he needed to know before he started trying to make up to everyone. Her admission didn't seem to shock him at all. Instead, he just nodded and looked her in the eye. She continued, "I hate how you've treated our parents. I hate how you've treated Taylor and Gail and Ryan. I hate how you've treated me. I hate how everything seems to always revolve around you. I hate how little respect or appreciation you show your life and this house. I hate how much you drink, how much you smoke, how much pills you've taken; because I'm not blind I know you've taken drugs. I just need you to know that although I'm glad you've come home for mom and dad's sakes, I'm not glad for me. If you didn't come back I don't think I'd grieve you because I've already grieved the loss of my brother; the minute Stephen died, you died. And I need you to know that before you start this whole My Name Is Earl shit that you say you're going to do because at the moment, you and I, we're siblings by legality and nothing else."

She breathed and stared at him, feeling a pressure lifting from her chest as she looked at her silent older brother. Damn it, she was crying and that seriously pissed her off; he didn't deserve her frustrated, hormonal tears.

"I…thank you for being honest with me, Pheebs," Teddy said slowly, carefully thinking about his every word, "It's good, you know, to be honest. I need to hear the truth so, thank you."

"You're welcome," Phoebe said, wiping her eyes and sticking out her jaw.

"I have a lot of burnt bridges and yours…that's the one I really want to rebuild," Teddy admitted, "I know I've been a cunt. There's no other word for it. I've been an absolute cunt to you. When I heard you wanted to join the Navy I was positive that that was my fault; that you were trying to run away from me."

"You're right," Phoebe replied bluntly.

"Thought so," Teddy chuckled softly, looking down at his plate of Chow Mein, "I'm proud of you though, Phoebe. The Navy…that's some career plan. I heard the staff had been training you?"

"Reynolds is a runner," Phoebe said, "and he's been helping me hit the fitness requirements. Or he was until he broke his leg saving you."

Teddy nodded, and then looked back at Phoebe, "I'm not going to bother saying sorry; you'll never forgive me, at least not yet. But I will say that I'm sorry for the time we've lost. I'm going to be there for you Phoebe. I'm going to get my act together and be the brother you've obviously needed. No more drinking, no more partying. I'm getting on with mom and Ryan. Taylor and I have become really close again too. I'm working on being better, one step at a time. And I hope that over time maybe, just maybe, you'll find it in your heart to give me another chance. I don't need your forgiveness; I quite frankly don't deserve it but I'd like a chance."

Phoebe nodded, crossing her arms over her chest and studied her mortally injured brother in bed. She could see he was trying to be better, she had seen how he'd managed to win back Ryan's friendship and Tay's too. But it wasn't that easy for Phoebe; she didn't want it to be either, as petty as it sounded because Teddy was right; he didn't deserve it easy.

She could give him a chance though; she'd never deny him that.

"One shot, Teddy," Phoebe said firmly, "One chance."

"Thank you Phoebe," Teddy replied, "Thank you."

.

.

 **18** **th** **of March,**

 **Grey Mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle,**

 **.**

Gail felt rotten, curled up on her sofa with their duvet wrapped around her. She'd a sick bucket on the floor, a glass of water and plain toast on the coffee table. Every time she opened her eyes she was hit by a sudden wave of nausea, the entire room spinning. She felt as though she were on a boat, the motion of which was violently rocking her left to right to the point of being sick. It had been a miserable week.

Jason had been amazing despite not being 100% himself. He emptied her bucket, made her simple food and made sure she was hydrated. He'd had Stonehouse go to the shops for her and get a blindfold which had helped the visual spinning but still she felt unbalanced internally. He'd gone to therapy, seeing a psychologist who specialised in Post-Traumatic Stress. Although he wasn't willing to let himself be diagnosed with PTSD as it was suicidal to his career, he was willing to talk about the shoot out and how it had affected him. It was a relief for Gail that he was taking therapy seriously, and it made her own recovery from her tumour a little easier to bare.

Someone opened her door.

Had it been over two hours already since Jason left? Surely not. Had she fallen asleep?

"Hello?" Gail called out, not attempting to sit up; movement made the dizziness worse.

"It's me Gail," Teddy called, "I was just coming to check on you."

What?

"Mom said you still weren't feeling well and I know Taylor's away right now," Teddy explained, getting closer by the sounds of his footsteps, "How are you feeling?"

Gail couldn't believe that THE Theodore Grey had walked into her house to check on her. Who was this man and what happened to the selfish boy she'd known for the last five years?

"Thank you Teddy," Gail cooed, unable to keep the smile from her face, "I'm fine so long as I don't move around too much. I've not been sick yet today so forgive me if I don't sit up or look at you."

"That's okay," Teddy replied, going into the kitchen and picking up a glass by the sounds of it. She heard the tap running, and the tumbler fill and then the tap being turned off. Teddy took a drink and then let out a sign, shuffling back in Gail's direction, "Sorry I had a painkiller to take."

"That's fine, Ted," Gail smiled, hit with a wave of nausea suddenly. She buried her face into the sofa and groaned lowly, wishing she felt better. Her doctor had told her that, given all that had happened with her husband and friends, she'd been surviving on adrenaline. Now that a peace had befallen the mansion her own medical issues had caught up with her. She had had a tumour removed from her brain, after all. It felt crazy to think that she'd had life altering surgery because she'd barely had time to focus on her own recovery with Jason and the gang MIA. But she was suffering for it now; the nausea, the poor coordination, dizziness…Jason was being fantastic considering he was recovering himself. She didn't have to force him to seek a therapist, she didn't need to remind him of his medication. He was taking his recovery seriously for Gail more than himself.

"You've gone white," Teddy said, sitting beside her; she could feel the sofa dip slightly by her face, "Do you feel sick?"

"Yes," Gail nodded as she pulled off her blindfold and braved sitting up so she could reach her sick bucket. But Teddy had it in hand, wrapping another behind her back and rubbing softly.

"There you go," Teddy cooed as Gail was sick again. Not that there was anything in her stomach to bring up other than plain toast and water. Teddy, for all his previous sins, sat with no issues are tentatively rubbed her back with a firmness which actually felt amazing on her stiff body.

"Thank you," Gail coughed once she'd gotten over the dry heaves. Teddy stood and walked into the bathroom to empty and rinse her bucket before returning. Now Gail's taken off her blindfold, she could see how much walking still hurt Teddy and how hard it was to walk whilst holding just a simple, empty bucket.

"It's okay," Teddy said, placing the bucket by his feet before sitting down once more. He turned to Gail and guided her down onto his lap, stroking her sore neck with a welcomed tenderness, "Just relax," he added.

"I'm okay now, Teddy, honestly," Gail lied, closing her eyes as Teddy began stroking her short hair carefully.

"Just relax," he encouraged, "Close your eyes and relax."

Gail nodded, giving over to fatigue.

"I love you Gail," was the last thing she was sure she heard before she fell asleep with her young Teddy bear comforting her gently.

.

.

 **18** **th** **of April,**

 **One month later,**

 **Grey Mansion,**

 **Grey Estate,**

 **Seattle,**

.

"Hey Teddy," Ana smiled as her son walked delicately into the family kitchen. She saved the new chapter she'd been working on and then closed her laptop to give him her full attention. It was hard watching as he lumbered over to the coffee machine to make himself a mug. Black, just like Christian loved. She was itching to make it for him but knew that she shouldn't unless Teddy was seriously having trouble. Part of Teddy's physiotherapy was that he try and accomplish little tasks himself. His doctor had made an off comment to both Ana and Christian, reminding them that opening a jar of jam required a lot of effort on Teddy's behalf but he needed to rebuild his core strength. Babying him like she wanted to do would be detrimental in the longer scheme of things for her healing son. But it hurt her to let him struggle like a walking wounded. It completely went against her nature.

"Hey mom," Teddy replied, turning round to look at her again once he'd poured himself a cup. It took a lot of effort, Ana noted; he required both hands to pour the contents of the coffee pot into his mug, making a strained sound as he did so.

"Did you sleep well?" Ana pressed, running her eyes over her man-sized baby boy.

This experience had absolutely aged him; anyone could see that. As much as Teddy would always be Ana's baby boy, there was no denying that before her stood a very handsome young man. Somehow he'd broadened in the face and shoulders, his jaw supporting a copper beard which really matured him. He seemed to have bulked up too but that could be because for the last few months Ana had become so accustomed to seeing him look so frail and weak in a hospital and now that he was home he was binging on takeaway and Gail's cooking. His grey eyes were tired though, and he'd worry lines embedded into his forehead. He also looked permanently exhausted. Although he said that he slept well at nights, Ana doubted that this was so. He didn't like straying from the house either. The furthest he was prepared to go was the top of the family drive where he'd walk the Taylor's bulldog to get in a little exercise like his therapist asked. Doctors, therapists, psychologists, nurses…they all had to come to Teddy.

"I slept like a log," Teddy said, like always, and then took a careful gulp of coffee. He lowered his mug onto the bunker behind him and studied Ana silently for a long time. It was a little unnerving if Ana was being honest. She was desperate to rekindle her relationship with her son, to work with him and become the team they'd been before Stephen's death had destroyed them both.

"I've nearly finished another one of your books," Teddy finally said, looking on the table.

"Really?" Ana beamed brightly, shocked that he'd actually continued reading them after his stay in the hospital. It made her heart swell with pride; her boy was actually taking an interest in her writing, the therapy she'd found to focus her crippling depression and anxieties. He was using her books to help him learn how to overcome Dyslexia and enjoy reading, "Which ones have you read now?"

"I didn't read the first one," Teddy explained. That was understandable to Ana; her first novel was a romance about a hotshot CEO and an art college student; it was perhaps too close to the bone for Teddy to read, "I've read the FBI one where he falls in love with the perp and has to prove her innocence, the one between the teacher and the single mom, I'm just starting the Navy SEAL one."

"Sawyer's favourite," Ana laughed, thinking fondly of her dear friend Luke Sawyer for a moment. God she missed him badly; he hadn't even returned a single message since he'd walked out of their lives without a second thought, "I think Jason liked that one too; Gail always gets one of the first copies and he reads it over his shoulder."

"Nah, he likes the interracial love one," Teddy said matter-of-factly which surprised Ana. After Stephen had died, both Ana and Taylor had become Teddy's public enemies and took the brunt of the blame for not saving his friend. It shocked Ana a little to think that Teddy knew something personal about Taylor and it gave her hope for her own relationship with her son once more, "When Taylor was younger he was looked after by a black family; so on a personal level he liked that the most. Plus he said something about their being a barn scene?"

"The barn scene's the sex scene," Ana laughed and blushed, watching this younger Christian Grey laugh too and pick up his mug of coffee to possibly hide his blush, "The barn was where Mack would meet Abigale, the grandparents of the lead woman in my first novel. Trust a man to pick that scene in particular as his favourite."

"I like the journey the most," Teddy admitted, "You know, the character development? I like how everyone's got a story, a past and a future, that you actually want to read about. It feels a little creepy saying that the sex scenes in my mom's books are my favourite scenes, anyway," he laughed again, "You're a really talented woman, mom."

"Thank you Teddy," Ana said sincerely, unable to stop her smile beaming at the compliment. She knew after Stephen died that she and Teddy's relationship had suffered the greatest. Clutched in the grips of a terrible depression which rendered her bedridden, Ana had been too ill to comfort and guide her son like he so desperately needed and she would forever be guilty for that, "How are you feeling?"

"Stronger," Teddy nodded, "I'm getting stronger. I was able to shower without my chair. I'm going to try shaving but I might wait till Dad comes home in case I need a hand."

"That's really good progress, Teddy," Ana complimented, "Do you need anything to eat? I sorted out all of your medication for the week; it's in the cupboard for you to take upstairs."

"No thanks," Teddy smiled, "I'll have something nearer dinner time when I need to take my first few pills, thanks. Ryan's coming round later to play xbox and have a few beers. Is that okay?"

"Of course," Ana assured him, "I'll make sure Dad doesn't say a thing," she promised, knowing Christian did not like when their security became too friendly with the family. Ryan was, in most cases, the exception however. He'd been incredibly supportive of Teddy's recovery, even if all he did was come round in the evenings with his games console to keep Teddy amused for a few hours.

"Thanks, mom," Teddy nodded, finishing his coffee before limping towards the door. He stopped on his way and looked back at her, "Mom, is Taylor here today?"

"No sweetie; he's not," Ana said. Christian had decided he was ready to go back to work. He had decided to bow out of the political world until GEH was back to being the North Western Powerhouse it was renowned for being. Taylor wasn't ready; he was a nervous wreck still and in Sawyer's absence, it was causing a strain to his relationship with Gail. He'd handed in a sick line and had weekly therapy appointments but Ana wondered how much the therapy was helping him and how much it was the Vodka she'd caught him drinking by the water a couple of days ago.

Ana knew Taylor had been prescribed Valium for his anxiety attacks, Gail had told her, and she said they were working well. Ana wondered if Gail would think the same if she'd been the one who'd found Taylor passed out drunk on the docks, spooning a bottle of Grey Goose. It had been an effort to carry Jason inside to the main house; she'd left him on their sofa with a blanket after wrestling his massive trainers from his feet.

"If you see him, will you ask him if he has Sophie's number? I want to try and get back in touch with her but I think she's moved apartments," Teddy explained, shuffling back upstairs.

 **.**

 **.**

 **29** **th** **May,**

 **Christian's Office,**

 **GEH,**

 **Seattle,**

.

"You sure you want this, Teddy?" Christian asked as he sat in his office, looking at his at his young son, "I just want you happy, son. When I envisioned this business it was never with a family in mind. Are you sure you'd really like to work here, with me?"

"Yes," Teddy said firmly, "I think, given recent events, I need to pull my head out of my ass and appreciate how lucky I am. The fact I'm having this conversation with you, right now, there's not a lot of kids out there who can do that."

Christian nodded and sat forward, laying his good hand on his knee. His bad arm was, still, in a sling and would probably always be. The nerve damage was extensive, the pain still very much a daily issue for him even though the burn itself had long since healed with the skin graft.

"I don't expect to walk in here and start working for you, Dad. I'm not under any illusions that I seriously…suck," Teddy laughed weakly, "But I've been looking at some college courses, local ones, which do business classes. I'd be able to study and work, if you'd have me."

That made Christian's heart swell; his son wanted to come and work with him. He'd looked into college courses, in seeking an education which could ultimately help him pursue a career with GEH. Christian was so proud that he felt his vocal cords stretch and wobble.

"Teddy," he said, and then cleared his throat, "I would be honoured if you wanted to come and work with me. Where do you think you'd like to work? What sort of departments were you thinking about?"

"I'm good at maths and numbers," Teddy admitted, nervously looking down at the ground, "I just don't know how well I could understand finance or economics though. I'm a little clueless, Dad. I dunno if maybe you should just chuck me in the mailroom or something?"

"What about HR?" Christian asked and then translated, "Human Resources. It's a more people orientated role. We do internships for HR assistants here and in a few smaller branches around the country. I could have a word with the HR team and set you up with someone you could shadow to get a feel for what the job entails? It's not that I don't trust you with numbers and figures but that takes a lot of…interest. You don't just wake up one morning understanding the stock market, but HR…I think you'd enjoy it."

"Yeah?" Teddy asked, picking up his glass of water.

"Oh god, yeah," Christian laughed, "You've got a mouth on you. If an employee came to you with a complaint you wouldn't be afraid to stick it to the man…me. God knows you've had years of experience already calling me a prick."

"Thanks, dad," Teddy smirked.

"My pleasure, son," Christian winked, beyond excited that his son actually wanted to work with him. After everything they'd endured, how shattered their relationship had become as Teddy grew, his son wanted to spend more time with him in work. It meant more to Christian than he'd ever let on.

.

.

 **5** **th** **of June,**

 **Driving home from seeing Uncle Elliot and Aunt Kate,**

 **Downtown Seattle,**

 **Seattle** ,

.

"What kind of gun is that on your hip?" Teddy asked Ryan out of the blue, the young Grey's eyes trained to Ryan's firearm. Welch looked back in the rear view mirror and watched Teddy's eyes trained to his CPO's weapon.

Ryan frowned at the random question and then looked down and smiled, "This? An M9 Beretta."

"Oh," Teddy said, and Welch watched as Ryan pulled his piece from his hip and allowed Ted to have a good look at the weapon. Christian Grey hated guns; when he'd first approached Welch's Protection Agency he'd made it clear that he didn't want 'cowboys' because it 'wasn't the image he wanted for himself and his business.' Welch had taken that in the metaphorical sense and given him Taylor, the Texan Marine who was very discreet about his piece and that partnership had lasted longer than most marriages.

It struck Welch as odd that Teddy would have a sudden interest in any of their side arms. But given his experience, it was understandable that maybe Ted would have more of an interest. Welch knew himself that understanding what had hurt himself was how he dealt with and overcame traumatic experiences so maybe Teddy thought the same?

"Can I hold it?" Ted then asked, holding his hand out. Ryan hesitated.

"I don't really like the idea of you touching it," Ryan admitted, "I don't let anyone touch my guns; it's my number one rule. I keep them in a case in my house but Nora's not allowed to even move them. For safety. If I don't let people touch them, they wont kill anyone."

"Oh," Teddy echoed but nodded; Ryan's rituals were very specific and the man would never deviate from them. If no one touched his weapons, then no one touched his weapons and that was that. His rituals did Welch's fucking nut in but Taylor liked them and he kept the freak around for all the reasons Welch disliked; he just couldn't trust Ryan's abilities like he could the others.

His nephew had autism and the minute a balloon popped, or a car backfired, or even sometimes just a tumbler dropped onto the wooden floor Nathan would have a three day tantrum, throw punches, bite and kick, spit and scream until he eventually calmed down or they called the doctor to sedate him. With those memories in mind, Welch disagreed that Ryan could do this job safely, irrespective of what coping mechanisms he had developed. It just bothered Welch, but then again Ryan wasn't one of Welch's guys; Jason had found him, so it would be Jason's fault if he freaked out like Nathan did.

"You can hold mine," Welch offered, removing his own side arm since they'd hit typical commuter traffic. He passed it back first to Ryan who then handed it over to Teddy safely.

The young man allowed himself to find a comfortable grip and adjust to the weight of the weapon, being respectful and aiming it towards the ground as he did so. His wife, Moira, had bought Welch that gun; she'd gone so far as having its lock case engraved with the family monogram.

"It's different to Ryan's," Teddy observed, "It feels heavier."

"Yeah. Mines is a Sig Sauer. Same as Reynolds and Taylor have," Welch pointed out, eyes on the road, "It's pretty standard in the Protection World."

"Why are you different?" Teddy asked Ryan curiously.

"I fell in love with the Beretta in the Army," Ryan said, flashing everyone that Boy Scout smile which completely contradicted the fact he'd ever been in the US army, "All those guys have Sigs. Sawyer's the only one who's different."

"Of course he is," Teddy laughed; everyone knew how Sawyer liked to stand out.

"He's got a Glock 19," Ryan continued, watching Teddy handling the weapon closely, "It's pretty suited to him; if you go on youtube you'll see all the shit people do to Glocks because their indestructible. A little like Sawyer."

Welch smiled fondly, thinking of his dear friend Sawyer. God he missed him badly. He knew he'd taken his girls and gone home, to Virginia, but he'd cut all contact with everyone including Welch who'd served with him in the Teams.

"That Sawyer's a crazy motherfucker," Welch laughed, "I remember one time he was escorting an interpreter into an…unsavoury country. They'd screwed up the tandem jump and got separated. When we found them, Sawyer had knocked the guy out and was carrying him on his back, holding his weapon still too. Apparently the guy was panicking so Luke whacked him over the head, poor bastard."

"What is it Taylor always says?" Teddy laughed, "Improvise, adapt, overcome?"

"Heartbreak Ridge," Welch laughed, "Big poof."

Teddy chuckled, looking back down at the weapon in his hands before passing it to Ryan, "I like that one. A Sig?"

"Yup," Welch smiled, letting Ryan keep his weapon until they arrived back at Grey Estate, "Good solid piece. Gets the job done."

"Good," Teddy nodded, "Good."


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter Forty Five,**

 **.**

 **.**

 **A lifetime ago…**

 **San Diego,**

 **California,**

 **.**

Sawyer's blood boiled as he looked at his Marine Buddy waddling along the corridor; what the fuck had she done to him this time? It broke Luke's heart but he was just as angry at Jason for discharging himself against the doctors orders; he'd been hurt severely this time given how carefully he was walking.

"You're not going back to her."

Jason looked up at him, his face bruised and sore looking, "Sophie-"

"Fuck Sophie; she's killing you, Jay," Sawyer snapped, hands in the air in exasperation. Doing this in the hospital was probably not the best place to have this conversation. He'd been drinking too, in the bar with a couple of his Team when Taylor called saying he needed a lift from the hospital. Getting behind the wheel of his truck despite three beers in his system, Sawyer had dropped everything to get to his unlikely bestfriend; the Marine.

"She's my baby," Jason croaked, his bruised eyes watering.

"Dolly is using her as a weapon," Sawyer argued, "You need to get your ass outta there and take her to court for access! You can't live in that house!"

"She'll tell the police I raped her," Jason shook his head, "That I've got PTSD, that I'm abusive, that I raped her. Who will the courts believe?"

"And did you rape her?" Sawyer snapped, pointing at him. When Jason said nothing, Luke cursed and kicked a bin, "You raped her?"

"I don't know," Jason broke, a horrified nurse looking at them both as she passed, "I don't know any more, Luke. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know-"

"You're not re-enlisting, Taylor," Luke told him, flat out told him, "You need to leave San Diego and you're moving states."

"I can't leave Sophie," Jason groaned, "I can't leave her here. She's all I've got now."

"You wont be leaving her; you'll be fighting the courts for her," Luke pointed out, "Remember Calvin was going to help you out?"

Mentioning his deceased friend broke Taylor more and Luke had to fight to hold him because….daaaaamn Luke couldn't bring himself to comfort his best pal. Every time he did, Jason cheered up and went back to Dolly. Everything would be all happy families once more and then Luke would get another call from the A&E. The cycle needed broken and it needed done now or Taylor was going to die. And since leaving the USMC, Taylor's trips to the hospital were getting too frequent. He'd picked up work in a gun shop on days that Dolly would let him leave their house, but again he was rarely at the shop. Luke knew because he went down every day he was in the country to see if Taylor was alive.

"Calvin died and you've done nothing to honour his death," Luke spat, "You've given up and that's not you, Taylor. That's not you."

"I don't know what to do," Jason moaned, rubbing his wet cheeks, "Luke I don't know what to do."

Luke snapped, pulling his mobile out of his jeans, "You're leaving tonight."

"I can't-"

"You're not getting to decide!" Luke shouted and shoved Jason's chest, "I'm not going to keep picking you up and dropping you off to that cunt."

"Who are you calling?" Jason asked nervously.

"An old teammate," Sawyer growled, glad when Welch finally answered, "Welch, hi it's Sawyer. I'm bringing someone up to Seattle tonight who might be able to help you get your business up and going if you still need bodies?"

" _Who is it?"_ Welch asked on the other end, sounding drunk himself.

"That Marine pal of mine; Taylor. Big guy, several tours under his belt. He's just separated with his wife and I'm bringing him up to Seattle tonight. You got a bed I can put him in?" Sawyer said, pointing furiously at Taylor when he went to argue about going to Seattle.

"… _She's hurt him again, hasn't she_?" Welch growled furiously under his breath.

"It's bad this time, Chief."

" _Get him here tonight. He can stay with Moira and I."_ Welch hung up.

Sawyer looked directly into Jason's dark blue eyes, "You're coming with me. We need to get you fresh clothes and some snacks for the drive. Seattle's a hell of a distance from here."

"I'm scared," Jason admitted, but he followed Luke slowly out of the hospital, "I'm scared I'll never see Sophie again."

"I wont let that happen," Luke promised, hand firmly on the Marine's back as he guided him to his truck, "What's got you walking like you've shit yourself?"

"She ruptured my testicles," Taylor admitted, and Luke vomited on the hospital car park.

.

.

 **Present Day,**

 **Sawyer's Ranch,**

 **10 Miles from Mill Creek,**

 **West Virginia**

.

"Sawyer?" Jason called as he walked up the dusty path to Luke Sawyer's brother's ranch. He knew that Luke's relationship with his brother and sister had been strained from birth; Luke was the youngest son and also the result of an affair which his mother had had. His siblings were fair skinned and ginger haired; Luke was olive skinned and dark haired. He was also smaller than his brother though more husky in build but that could have been to do with his time in the SEALs, a career he'd chosen to escape his family.

Jason spotted Isla first. The youngest Sawyer girl was wearing a pretty little teal blue dress, her knees scuffed from playing probably; she was a Tomboy through and through, "Isla?"

Isla paused playing and looked towards Jason, clapping her hands in excitement, "Uncle Jay!"

She ran and threw herself into Jason's hands, wrapping her skinny little legs around his abdomen and locking her arms around his neck in a tight chokehold. She still smelt so familiar, even though it had been months since he'd last seen his best friend's family.

"I've missed you," she complained, Jason running his hand through her thick raven coloured hair; he missed his Goddaughters terribly.

"I've missed you too," Jason promised, kissing her cheek before lowering her to her feet, "Is Daddy home?"

"He's around," Isla said, holding his good hand, "Eddie's with her boyfriend."

"Eden's got a boyfriend?!" Jason gasped playfully, "I thought I was her boyfriend?"

"Sorry, Sir; she's looking for a man her own age and not one waiting on his pension," Isla said, giving Jason that cheeky Sawyer smirk; the girls were witty, like their mother, and fast tongued like Sawyer. They always made Jason laugh; their humour dark and offensive.

"Wow, Isla, you didn't half cut me down there," Jason said dramatically, holding his throat.

"Well it's true," Isla shrugged, leading them both up the dusty path to the house. Jason had been to the ranch a few times with Gail and Sophie and loved how homely the whole structure was. The farmhouse was a traditional stone build with large white panel windows and a porch complete with swing chair. Many nights Jason had enjoyed a cold beer with Sawyer outside watching the stars, some of his favourite memories being out here with his family.

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" Isla screamed suddenly, Jason jumping out of his skin, "UNCLE JAY IS HERE!"

"WHAAAAT?" Jason could here Danni yelling, Sawyer's gorgeous wife appearing by the open front door, "Jay! What the hell?"

She marched over to him and pulled him into an embrace he hadn't anticipated, feeling Danni's warm, feminine body press against his. Damn she was hot, Jason coughed and pulled away but Danni didn't let him go. Instead she held his jaw in her hands and caressed it with her thumbs, staring directly into his eyes.

"It's great to see you," Danni told him with a wide, flawless smile, "You've lost weight though."

"Uh, physio," Jason said, scrambling to find words. He was hopeless with women at the best of times but when it came to the exotic and alluring Danni, he was absolutely shit. And he wasn't alone; Ryan, Welch, Grey, Teddy…they all their best impression of a looney tunes character when Danni was around. Heck, Jason had caught Reynolds gazing a little longer than needed at his team mate's wife. Not that Luke or Danni cared; they were a good looking couple.

"Luke's missed you," Danni said, dropping one hand but keeping the other firmly on Jason's cheek.

"He's not returned any of my calls," Jason countered, finding his words again.

"He's not been using his phone," Danni sighed, turning to Isla, "Baby, go put the leftover chops in the microwave. Aunty Gail's not been feeding Uncle Jay like he needs."

"I'm fine," Jason insisted, but there was no winning against Danni as she took Jason's hand and pulled him towards the house and up the porch stairs.

"How was your flight?" she asked, pushing his shoulders down so that he took a seat on an interesting yellow tartan sofa.

"Long," Jason laughed, little Isla appearing with a plate of mouthwatering leftovers. His stomach gurgled in anticipation, tucking in hungrily, "Where is Luke?"

"In his shed," Danni explained, "Researching."

"Researching?" Jason echoed curiously, covering his mouth with his hand mid chew, "He gone back to college?"

"No…he's looking for someone," Danni stated flatly, her tone shifting from that of a welcoming friend to a soldier. The warmth left her eyes, her smile became a thin line across her face. Jason imagined that, had Isla not been cuddled beside him, Danni would have let out a stream of explicit profanity.

DeMiro.

Jason felt his stomach churn.

"Has he got any leads?" Jason asked, though he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Why would he? If Luke went after DeMiro it put Jason's family at risk. His Little Woman.

"Why don't you ask him for yourself," Luke announced, walking through the house from the backdoor. He grinned at Jason and opened his arms out for an embrace, "Hey, Brother."

Jason placed his dinner on Isla's lap before he stood and allowed himself to be held by another Sawyer. He was unsure who the more handsy one was between Luke and Danni, Luke slapping his back and then squeezing his ass playfully, "Hey Luke."

"You're looking…like shit," Luke laughed, kissing Danni's forehead as he walked to the fridge and grabbed a beer, "Want one?"

"Fuck yes," Jason admitted, seriously craving alcohol of any type. He caught it with his good arm when Sawyer threw it, unscrewing the top and taking a deep gulp. He wasn't supposed to drink while he took the Valium Dr Flynn had prescribed but with everything going on with Gail and his head…it was hard not to drink. Mrs Grey had found him one night passed out by the docks with a bottle of vodka and put him to bed on their sofa. He'd no memory of the whole thing, but Ana was quick to point out her concerns. She hadn't told Gail though, which was the main thing.

"Thirsty, man?" Sawyer laughed, grabbing the whole crate from the fridge, "Come on; lets head to my shed to talk."

"Talk would be good," Jason agreed, Isla giving Luke the plate of delicious chops to carry. They walked through the narrow house, passing family pictures and landscape paintings. There was nothing about the place which screamed Danni and Luke Sawyer which made Jason suspicious that they didn't intend to stay in this house long.

"What's it like for work up here?" Jason asked, following Sawyer through the backdoor and towards a large wooden, rotting shed; the ultimate Man Cave. Jason wished Gail would let him have as big a space to do man things, like stuff and bits and tinkering. As it stood he had to share a garage with her junk.

"Shit," Luke laughed, "But this isn't a permanent move for us. We're here for the girls and then we'll think long term. Danni's been working at a salon in town, I've been helping out on a farm a few kilometres from here. There's a tutor who comes to teach the girls but," Luke shrugged, "I think we're all in agreement that a new school and repeating a grade is the way forward. They've been through so much."

"What's the long term plan?" Jason asked.

"New Zealand," Luke said firmly, "It's a world away from this place. We meet the criteria to immigrate; Danni has a trade and technically so do I. I was a mechanic before the Navy."

"Well if you need money then I'll loan you some till you're settled," Jason offered, studying Luke's shed once he'd unlocked the door.

Guns hung everywhere, Jason grinning widely. Both he and Luke would take his gun collection up north and shoot cans and bottles to get in practice, but also to get away from the wives and Grey for a weekend. He'd fond memories of handling each one, smiling; why was Luke's wife so cool with guns and beers during the day time and Luke having a Man Cave?

"Cool decorations," Jason laughed, turning to the left and pausing just before he sat on the sofa. Before him were several maps and notes scrawled in Luke's handwriting. Red string draped across one map to the next, pinned in set points of interest to Luke, red marker circling others.

"Holy shit," Jason mumbled, his legs giving way as he sat on the sofa and just stared directly at this wall, "Jesus Sawyer."

Luke laughed and scratched his head as he walked towards the wall. He was clearly proud of his detective work, running his fingers along a line of thread connecting what was a map of Seattle to a map of Mexico, "Yeah, I've been keeping tracks on DeMiro."

"…How?" Jason struggled to say, "He's…He's not…He's not an issue for us anymore."

"If he'd kidnapped Sophie and Gail and handed them over to his goons, would you not want retribution?" Luke challenged, taking a sip from his beer whilst Jason mulled that point over.

"No," He eventually argued, "Not if it meant putting your family at risk. I'd sooner die myself than let that happen."

"What if Gail asked you to and you had the ability?" Luke pressed.

"God, Luke, no. I don't want anymore violence," Jason protested, "Is that what's happening? Is it Danni that's got you down this path? Because she's a civilian, Sawyer. She doesn't understand what the implications are here. You're putting your family at risk, the Greys, mine…I can't let you do this."

"And what'll you do to stop me?" Luke challenged, turning to face his months of hard work and investigating, "DeMiro is in a place called El Salado. With his wife still. They pretty much packed up and left while we were in hospital-"

Jason tuned Luke out and slowly stood, staring directly at the back of his friend's skull. Carefully, trying not to alert him, Jason pulled his Sig from the back of his jeans and carefully attached the silencer whilst Luke continued to ramble on about how he knew where DeMiro was and how he intended to kill him, how he wouldn't sleep until DeMiro was gone.

"I'm not sure what I'll do to his wife-" Luke started but then stopped suddenly, turning and spotting Jason holding his gun to his besfriend's head, "…Really, Taylor? Is this why you came here?"

"I came here to make sure you weren't going after DeMiro," Jason said slowly, eyes never leaving Luke's, "I can see you're still adamant you're chasing him."

"Did Grey put you up to this?" Luke laughed, unafraid despite the gun, "I bet this was Grey."

"Nope; not Grey," Jason growled, "This is for me and Gail and Sophie and-"

"and what about me?" Luke challenged, "What about me and my family? We can't continue our lives until we know we're safe and right now we aren't safe."

"Of course you're safe; so long as you don't go and do something stupid like try to kill DeMiro," Jason moaned.

"Kill me then," Luke challenged, taking a step towards Jason with his hands out at his side, "Because right now all I can think about is that mutant touching my girls and leaving them with a group of monsters. And until I put that beast down for his sins, I won't be the same again."

"Luke, please," Jason begged, his hand shaking as Luke pressed his forehead to nozzle, "Just stop this; please. I don't want to do this."

"Thank you for saving me," Luke suddenly said then, "Helping pay for mom's medical bills, keeping me off the streets after the SEALs, getting me therapy, an apartment, getting me the fucking job up in Seattle with the Greys. Where I met my wife, where I had my daughters. I'll never be able to thank you enough for how you've shaped my life. Do it. It's okay, Jason. Do it. You need to do it."

"Luke," Jason didn't know when he'd started to cry; maybe it was how his best friend was staring at him and giving his blessing to being killed, "Please."

"Jason, if you need to do this, then do it," Luke insisted, "It's okay, big guy."

Jason growled and commanded his fingers to pull the trigger…but they couldn't. How could they?

He dropped to his knees in complete grief, Luke dropping with him and pulling Jason into a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry, Luke," Jason choked, "I'm so fucking sorry."

"I'm sorry too, Jay," Luke croaked, shaking in Jason's arms, "I'm so fucking sorry that I need to do this."

"I'm so sorry I can't help you do it," Jason added, because he was; he wished he could help Luke torture the bastard who'd dared to harm his family.


End file.
